Special Family Status

"Then his mother and his brothers came to him, but they could not reach him because of the crowd. And he was told, 'Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see you.' But he answered them, 'My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.' " - Luke 8:19-21 ESV

I often think of this verse if I give a missionary money because I was taught by my family that giving cash as a gift to family members was an acceptable but it was better to give a thoughtful item to non-family members. So every time I hand someone cash I think, 'You are family.'

Our family has a special place in our hearts and minds. It is a unique place. Not everyone has family. Many of us have interesting relationships with our families. There are different boundaries drawn. We are willing or unwilling to do things because people are in a different category when they are considered family.

Jesus is displaying His deity when He says, 'My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.'

Some teach this verse this way... 'If you obey God's commands you will have special status with God. He will make concessions for you like you do for family.'

But, This verse comes to mind.

"Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God;" - 1 Peter 1:22-23 ESV

Our first birth gave us an Earthly family but our second birth makes us children of Heaven.

Jesus was speaking prophetically about those who would mix faith with the Gospel and that good news would go deep into them and create a new person who would value what God values and function in the reality that God speaks about. At times that would come easy and at other times there would just be a sense of obedience absent from emotion.

The person who never hears the truth has only one family... the one who sometimes can't make it through the crowd to get to them because natural circumstances hinder natural love.

The person who hears the word of God and does it can love both families. Prayer transcends the crowd and all natural barriers. There is a provision for the things that drive us crazy and put wedges between brother, sister, father and mother.

A great feast is coming and God has room at His table for more family members. They are out there waiting to be found. Maybe today God will put us in front of a person who has never heard the truth and will truly hear it deep inside their soul today if it is spoken today in a fresh way.

Help us God. Help us not to be respecters of persons. Give us room in our hearts for more family members. Heal us where we need to be healed. It it easy to get wounded and hindered but we want to love with the freedom that only You can give us.

Thank You God for taking us in and giving us a special place at your table.

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