January 23: Mark 3:31-34
Key Verse: Mark 3:34
Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.
Devotion:
This is an interesting one which worries many people but shouldn’t. Jesus was inside talking with His disciples and others when someone came in to tell Him His birth mother and brothers were outside looking for Him. His response will make some people feel ecstatic whilst others will feel distraught; and, I may say, both side may well be Christians.
As we grow as Christians we begin to understand more about Jesus and the ways of God. As we learn more our understanding of the ways of man and the ways of God expand as well. Sometimes some things are very hard to accept in our lives because we have lived with many ways all of our lives. The older we get the more resistant we are to change in any form!
This must not be taken out of context and in any form be taken as Jesus turning His back on His mother, Mary, or His brothers. But it is a statement from Him to show something more important. Once we become Christians we have a much wider family to take care of and to share things with.
Our birth families remain just that, our birth families. And depending on your own feeling you birth family may be the most important thing in your life. I am now at the age where I no longer have a birth mother or father because both have passed on; but I have a step mother who is as important to me as a birth mother. I also have an extended family who are all as important. But I also have a wider church family who are important as well. God is the one who gives me the love and strength to take on such a family!
Points to Ponder:
What does family mean to you?
What does God’s family mean to you?