Today's Reading:O.T. - Proverbs 19
N.T. - Mark 2:23 - 3:35
Focus Verses: Mark 3:20-21; 31-35
20Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. 21When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, "He is out of his mind."- - - 31Then Jesus' mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. 32A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, "Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you." 33"Who are my mother and my brothers?" he asked. 34Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! 35Whoever does God's will is my brother and sister and mother."
Insight:
When Jesus’ family heard the constant reports of crowds, miracles, and his run-ins with religious authorities, they feared he was losing his senses. They thought it was time to do a family intervention and take him home so he could get back to a normal family life. Instead of going outside to meet them, Jesus looked at the people sitting around him and said, "Here is my real family! Those who do my Father’s will.”
I wonder if Mary heard an echo of Jesus’ voice as a young boy in the Temple saying, “Why are you searching for me? Don’t you know I have to be in my Father’s house?” His Father’s house/family is made up of everyone who is doing his Father’s will. God’s family must come even before earthly family. Kingdom family relationships are deeper, more profound, and more enduring than flesh and blood relationships. Spiritual DNA is more important than physical DNA.
Response and Action:
I want to hold my relationship with Christ above all others. I want to love him more than father, mother, son, daughter, and self. I want to embrace my family of Christian brothers and sisters. I will value and cherish the gift of Christian friends.
O Lord, thank you for adopting me into your family. Help me to do your will. Thank you for my Christian brothers and sisters, and for all they do to help me grow in my relationship with you. Thank you that so many of my earthly family relatives are also part of my Kingdom family. Help me to live in a way that draws people into the family of faith. Through Christ, I pray. Amen.
Proverbs: 19:18
"Discipline your son, for in that there is hope; do not be a willing party to his death."
Resources:
God, Marriage, and Family: Rebuilding the Biblical Foundation
by Andreas Kostenberger and David W. Jones
