Family
“And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, ‘Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.’” Matthew 12:49-50
In our Bible study small group, one member, who was struggling with continuously having to care for her aging mother, said, “I know my mom is my mom, but I have to remember that she is also my sister.”
These words were profound. If our parents are believers and followers of Jesus Christ, then they are our brothers and sisters. They play a dual role in our lives. Every Scripture pertaining to living together as the Body of Christ applies to our treatment of them. The Word of God speaks of how we believers live together: In unity. Tenderness. Compassion. Speaking kindly. Preferring others before ourselves. Dying to self. Laying down our lives for others. Caring for one another.
How astounding it is that Jesus declared us His brother and sister and mother! He chose us, adopting us into His own family. Once we didn’t belong, but now we do. I haven’t quite let myself call Jesus my brother—it seems too familiar. But He calls Himself that. It’s almost—almost—easier to see Him as a friend than as a brother. John 15:14 says, “You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.”
My Bible study friend is doing the right thing, and she is trying to do it with the right heart. I cared for my own mom in my home for the last years of her life, and I was also acutely aware that she was not only to be honored as my mom, but tenderly, compassionately loved as my sister in Christ.
Brother. Sister. Mother. Friend. Familiar, family designations. God chose us in Christ to be heirs of His kingdom. Unfathomable love we can’t fully grasp in this life. But, after all, His ways are higher than our ways.
We are the grateful recipients of that family relationship with the Father.
Lord, truly we desire to honor other believers as Your own family members, as our own family members. Help us to do that in all the hard places where we fall short. Help us to love overflowingly, abundantly, as You do. By the Holy Spirit’s enabling, we can do just that. Amen.