Today's passage: "Now Jesus' mother and brothers came to see him, but they were not able to get near him because of the crowd. Someone told him, "Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you." He replied, "My mother and brothers are those who hear God's word and put it into practice." Luke 8:19-21
As I visit family this week, my thoughts turn to the relationships among us. It is so good to see family members who have moved away, catch up on current events, and reminisce about the things we once "got into" as kids. We walk down the long trails of memory lane, pausing to call to mind the members of our family whose journeys were complete on this earth years before.
Laughter is shared as everyone seems to have a funny story to tell about every situation. Cousins who taught us to hide our trails and feign ignorance about something broken that is of value to one of our mothers. Those same cousins who turned is in later so that we received the punishment... Or siblings who not so fondly recall spankings that should have been administered to the younger one but who managed to convince our parents that it was our fault.
Generally, families are great groups of friends with shared backgrounds who have a fun time together. Unfortunately, some families are not close, but there is one family we can always count on. As the saying goes, "Blood is thicker than water" and we can be assured that the family purchased with blood runs deeper than any other family bond can do. God is our Father and Jesus, who purchased our family with His blood, is our brother who should have received every eternal inheritance but chose long ago to share it with all of His brothers and sisters.
Who else can we trust to care for us than God's family? What hope do we have on this earth if we are not part of a Christian family? Although we may not share physical bonds with the members of the church, we share spiritual ones that are linked more closely in Christ and strengthed by His love.
God's family is to be united together in peace, love and joy. One of the greatest joys we will ever experience is when we take part in the greatest family reunion ever: in Heaven! Let us never forget that we are a part of God's family and that every single member is of great importance to Him.
