Then Jesus’ mother and brothers came to see him, but they couldn’t get to him because of the crowd. 20 Someone told Jesus, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, and they want to see you. Jesus replied, “My mother and my brothers are all those who hear God’s word and obey it.”
Memory Verse: So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family. Ephesians 2:19
One of the great quotes by an outstanding poet, Itohan Eghide says “Bond is stronger than blood. The family grows stronger by bond.”. Wouldn’t life just feel much better if we understood our positions and also our boundaries? If we became knowledgeable about how we fit into one another’s lives and see ourselves just as a piece in a family of a world jig saw puzzle? Of course majority of the people we come in contact with daily are those people we hardly even notice because somewhere in our mind, we don’t know them, nor have a clue who they are and finally, cannot be bothered about them.
Subconsciously, we are not relations with these people, so therefore we feel its ok to turn a blind eye to their existence. Worse still, when we sense these so called “nonrelations” have some certain needs, we simply distance ourselves because we feel it isn’t any of our business. When we do that, what we are actually saying is “I have my own family to worry about”, and though this may not be said out loudly, the actions speaks louder than words. Conclusively, it is a perspective gotten wrong, because one of God’s intentions of creation is to nurture unison.
Many times I have conversations with people who just don’t see a point going to church or fellowshipping with other believers. While I would often go down the route of trying to convince them it’s the Christian thing to do because we are one family in Christ, I sometimes just say “you don’t know what you’re missing”.
Once I say that, I find out that’s starts a whole new conversation as their mind begins to wonder “what could I really be missing out on? Participating and involving in part of a body of Christ is essential to growth and soundness of your spiritual life. One of the beautiful things about belonging to a family church is that you truly feel part of a family. Soon as Saul had an encounter with the Lord and was converted, Ananias on God’s instruction went to him as instructed by the Lord and immediately referred to him as “Brother Saul” Acts 9:17. This signifies that your entry into the body of Christ makes you one with your other believers in Christ, hence makes you a part of a family and likewise makes them your family.
One of the most important message Jesus taught while he was on earth was “Love” and He was successful at His teachings because He was a family person. Jesus’ definition of family was not only qualifying those He was related to by blood, it was extended to those He was close to in any form. His response in Luke 8:21 gives clarity that anyone who hears the word of God and obeys it is classed as His family. They simply belong to the family and are welcome to be treated as one.
The blood of Jesus is the link between all Christians and binds us all together as one, making it impossible to say a fellow Christian is not related to you. Think again what does it mean when you say I am part of Jesus’ family? In the body of Christ, there are no strangers because we are all family members who belong to one family.
As a true believer, the only way to treat a fellow Christian is as you would treat your own blood brother or sister, because we all belong to one family. If in doubt, refer to the word of God in Galatians 3:26-29 which admonishes us that We are all in Christ together. So let me ask you, do you consider yourself as one of the members of the family?
PRAYERS:
- Thank you Lord for another wonderful week just ending
- Father forgive all my sins and help me to live right with you
- I repent from the ways I have forsaken togetherness, help me to dwell in unity from today
- I nullify every spirit of resentment in me, I receive the grace for compassion, love and fellowship with my neighbors
- Thank you Lord for I will win souls to your kingdom by showing love to all around me
- In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
