We are Family

In my Bible reading today, I revisited a passage that left me feeling somewhat anxious when I read it for the first time as a kid. The passage is Matthew 12:46-50, where Jesus is told his family is waiting for him outside and he says, "Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” Then he pointed to his disciples and said, “Look, these are my mother and brothers. Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother!”

It seemed like such a rejection of his biological family that it hurt me to read it. I didn't want to think I had to reject my family in order to be a Christian. Disowning your entire family is a pretty scary thought for a kid; even an adult, for that matter.

Now that I am older, I see what Jesus was saying a bit differently. He was making a point, not rejecting his family. Jesus' mother, in particular, was close to Jesus for his entire earthly life. She was one of the few who stayed with him as he was crucified. He didn't reject her and she didn't reject him.

This passage serves as a challenge to love, not a charge to reject. As Christians, we are just as much a family as if we grew up under the same roof. I think about my sister and how much I trust her and would do anything for her. Do I feel that way about the rest of my brothers and sisters in Christ?

We get so busy with our day-to-day lives, we don't make time to even get to know our Christian family. How rude. What if Uncle Buck came to visit and you completely ignored him the whole time he was at your house? If your parents had any manners at all, they'd probably chastise you thoroughly and demand you apologize to your Uncle. Right? Yet, we encounter members of our Christian family weekly, even daily, and we don't even make an effort to chat with them. We are in a hurry to get into the sanctuary and find our seat, or we need to get the kids settled in the nursery, or we have to drop off our casserole in the fellowship hall before services. We do not allow enough time to get to know our Church family.

If Sunday School starts at 9:00 and you don't get there until 8:55, you're late. If church ends at 12:00 and you are out of the parking lot at 12:05, you are rude. That's the truth. These people are our family and we need to get to know them. That takes TIME!

Ouch, I just stepped on my own toes.