Midweek Message from the Mount – June 20, 2012

 “Who are my mother and my brothers?” he asked. ³⁴ Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! ³⁵ Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.” (Mark 3:33-35)

Have you ever thought about how amazing it is that Jesus calls us his brothers and sisters?  Have you considered how remarkable it is that we have been made the sons and daughters of the Heavenly Father? 

Through Jesus, God has taken us, bitter enemies of himself because of our choice of straying instead of obeying, and he has reconciled us to himself.  We were sons and daughters of the Father of Lies, but he has declared us to be the sons and daughters of himself, the Father of Life.  This is nothing we have earned or deserved.  There’s nothing we have done that God should look at us and think we were worth adopting.  But he did it because of his love.  How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! (1 John 3:1)  And because we are his children we find peace and security in his faithful promises, we find comfort in his loving and protecting arms, and we are happy to obey his commands and to do his will.

And have you ever considered how this relationship with our heavenly Father makes us brothers and sisters of each other?  Not by our blood, but by Jesus’ blood, are we family.  And that’s something that is stronger than any other relationship we have on this earth, because it lasts for eternity.  The brothers and sisters in faith that you have here will be your family forever.  So we care for one another.  We look out for one another.  We help each other when we are hurting.  We rejoice with one another when we have reason to rejoice.  And we love one another.  Not just in words, but in actions and in truth.  We love one another as Christ our brother first loved us.

Thank God that he has made us his family, and he has made us into a family!

Prayer:  Heavenly Father, We thank and praise you for making us your dear children through the merits of Jesus.  Lead us to place our trust in you as you supply us with all our needs. Strengthen us as we live together as a family of believers that we might exhibit our love for you in our relationships.  May we glorify you in all that we say and do together as a family in faith.  We pray in the name of Jesus, our brother.  Amen.