If Jesus asked you to take care of his own mother, would you? Would you do it well?
As his life ebbed away on the cross, Jesus put his mother into the care of the Apostle John. “Here is your son,” he told her, referring to John. And to John he said, “Here is your mother” (John 19:25-27).
Jesus expects that very thing of all of us today. How so?
There’s a scene in Matthew’s Gospel where Jesus was teaching in a house. The crowd packed inside so that his mother and brothers couldn’t get to him. When someone told him that his family was standing outside and wanted to see him, he pointed to 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).
Jesus said to Mary and John, “Take care of each other.” Likewise, Jesus calls your attention to your fellow disciples and says, “Here is my brother and sister and mother. You’re in a new family now. Take care of each other.”
We must learn to see our family of fellow believers as the most significant of all our relationships. Beyond blood or marriage or politics or nationality, our most significant relationships are with those who love Jesus like we do. And that means we need to spend time with each other, and include each other in our lives, and invite each other into our houses, and sacrifice time and money to meet each other’s needs.
When I attended church services as a teen, at one point in every service we were told to greet the people around us. And then we sang a chorus:
I’m so glad I’m a part of the family of God
I’ve been washed in the fountain, cleansed by his blood
Joint heirs with Jesus as we travel this sod
For I’m part of the family, the family of God.
Do you feel that same gladness to be part of the family of God?
--Tom
Tom Goodman serves as pastor at Hillcrest Church in Austin, Texas. His sermons are available on YouTube and the HillcrestToGo Podcast and you can find him on Facebook and Twitter. If someone forwarded this email newsletter to you, sign up here to receive Tom’s weekly devotional in your email inbox.