Week 10, Day 2: Who is My Brother?
Today’s Reading: Mark 5:1-6:56
Some thoughts from yesterday’s reading…
Which is more important to you: Physical relationships or spiritual relationships? Many people put much more emphasis on their physical families and relationships than they do their spiritual family. For those who are truly Christians, this should never be the case. In fact, in Mark 3:32-35, Jesus gives us the perfect example of what our attitudes should be. There, disciples came to Him telling Him that His brothers and mother were coming to see Him. He asked the question, “Who are My mother and My brothers?”
How many mothers and brothers would have been insulted by Jesus’ answer? How many would have been offended that He would put these near strangers above His own physical family? Probably a lot! But this is one of those instances that the interpretation is all in your perspective. If a person were focused on the physical, the temporal, then they would certainly be offended by what Jesus had to say here. This is the type of person who will support their own family, regardless of what is right. How many of us have seen people who will support their family members, even if they are obviously wrong, or participating in sin? However, if one has an heavenly perspective, Jesus’ answer was not an insult. In fact, it was a revelation of how great a family we can have! Those who serve God can have far greater relationships (in both depth and number) than those who put their focus on the physical. Later in his gospel, Mark tells us that we have a huge family in Christ:
So Jesus answered and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel’s, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions—and in the age to come, eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”
–Mark 10:29-31
By putting more emphasis on our spiritual family, we ensure that we will hold our physical family to the higher standard revealed in God’s word. We may be tempted to give our own physical family a “pass” when it comes to sin. But, when we think of them as not just physical family, but also spiritual family, we cannot allow such. If we care for the soul of our family member, how can we overlook their sin? We cannot choose to support our physical relations to the detriment of the Lord’s instructions!
We often use passages like this to say that we sometimes have to give up our family if we are going to be faithful Christians. That is true, but there are other lessons that we can also learn. We should learn that our physical family (if they are Christians as well) share a deeper, more important relationship than ever before. With that comes a greater responsibility. If we are going to look out for them, we must be willing to hold them to the standard revealed to us by God! We need to follow the example left by Jesus. Who is my brother, my mother? Whoever does the will of God! But that is only true if I too am doing the will of God!
So, which is more important to you: Physical family, or spiritual family? I hope that your answer is the latter. If you want to be helpful to your physical family, push them to be obedient to God, and give up sin in their lives!
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