Who Is My Family?
Jesus Redefines Relationships
“Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he 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 12:48-50
Do you have "complicated" family relationships? I mean, the ones where you can't live with 'em, and you can't live without 'em? You know that you "should" be close, but for whatever reason, it just hasn't worked out that way:
Jesus knew full well who His family members were. He was not being disrespectful to them, nor was He refusing to speak to them. What He did next, though, instructs us on the nature of our true, " forever" family: He held out His hand toward His followers, and declared that they were His "brothers, sisters, and mother".
Do you see what He did there? He re-defined family! Followers of Jesus – those who do God's will – belong to the heavenly kingdom, His real family! Family of origin, for us as it was for Jesus, is just that: biological. But there's a much larger spiritual family in which His followers are also members.
Looking For Love In All The Right Places
Regardless of whether your need for connection is met by your biological family members, God has made a way for you to belong in His kingdom. You have brothers and sisters galore – all over the world, of all different nations, of all different ages – within the faith!
Our biological family members may not be able meet our needs for comfort, affirmation, encouragement, support, or unconditional love. However, God means for His kingdom family to meet these needs for each other. We are to bear each other's burdens, comfort each other, and build each other up.
How Do I Find My Family?
Jesus said that those who "do His Father's will" are His family members. How do we identify people who are doing God's will? While we can't unequivocally determine who is "in the kingdom", here are some tip offs:
Is this person regularly exchanging old, unhelpful patterns for new ones? We call this repentance: an ongoing process that indicates growth. God's will is for everyone to repent.
The Scriptures above describe followers of Jesus – those who are walking with God. Do they describe you? Are you a person that people delight to see because you reflect Jesus' attitudes and actions? Do you have the capacity to reach out to your kingdom family members to offer support, encouragement, love, and connection? How are you growing, and how are you helping others to grow?
"Heavenly Father, grant us wisdom to walk in your ways as we connect with our family members in your kingdom. Thank you for providing a way for all of our needs to be met, first through Your Son Jesus, and also by His followers – our brothers and sisters in Christ. Help us to be alert to the needs of others, taking each opportunity to be Your hands and feet. Amen."
*****
For a closer look on how kingdom siblings interact, see Titus 2.
Click HERE to receive free weekly articles in your inbox. Your information will never be shared.
©2023 Julianne Knapp. First published 4.11.23
CC
“Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he 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 12:48-50
Do you have "complicated" family relationships? I mean, the ones where you can't live with 'em, and you can't live without 'em? You know that you "should" be close, but for whatever reason, it just hasn't worked out that way:
- Maybe you long for a family you never had
- Maybe you're a survivor of domestic abuse
- Perhaps you'd love to have closeness with your family members, but you know that isn't possible, at least not yet
- There is a tension between your familiar growing-up patterns, and the knowledge that you can't do those relationships the same way anymore
- Maybe you feel you have to emotionally distance yourself when you're physically present for your family members
- You want better for your family members than they want for themselves
- Or, most importantly: your family cannot provide the connection you know you need.
Jesus knew full well who His family members were. He was not being disrespectful to them, nor was He refusing to speak to them. What He did next, though, instructs us on the nature of our true, " forever" family: He held out His hand toward His followers, and declared that they were His "brothers, sisters, and mother".
Do you see what He did there? He re-defined family! Followers of Jesus – those who do God's will – belong to the heavenly kingdom, His real family! Family of origin, for us as it was for Jesus, is just that: biological. But there's a much larger spiritual family in which His followers are also members.
Looking For Love In All The Right Places
Regardless of whether your need for connection is met by your biological family members, God has made a way for you to belong in His kingdom. You have brothers and sisters galore – all over the world, of all different nations, of all different ages – within the faith!
Our biological family members may not be able meet our needs for comfort, affirmation, encouragement, support, or unconditional love. However, God means for His kingdom family to meet these needs for each other. We are to bear each other's burdens, comfort each other, and build each other up.
How Do I Find My Family?
Jesus said that those who "do His Father's will" are His family members. How do we identify people who are doing God's will? While we can't unequivocally determine who is "in the kingdom", here are some tip offs:
Is this person regularly exchanging old, unhelpful patterns for new ones? We call this repentance: an ongoing process that indicates growth. God's will is for everyone to repent.
- 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:18 Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.
- Deuteronomy 10:12 And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you? He requires only that you fear the Lord your God, and live in a way that pleases him, and love him and serve him with all your heart and soul.
- James 1:27 Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.
- 2 Peter 3:14 And so, dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to be found living peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in his sight.
- Matthew 7:16-20 You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.
The Scriptures above describe followers of Jesus – those who are walking with God. Do they describe you? Are you a person that people delight to see because you reflect Jesus' attitudes and actions? Do you have the capacity to reach out to your kingdom family members to offer support, encouragement, love, and connection? How are you growing, and how are you helping others to grow?
"Heavenly Father, grant us wisdom to walk in your ways as we connect with our family members in your kingdom. Thank you for providing a way for all of our needs to be met, first through Your Son Jesus, and also by His followers – our brothers and sisters in Christ. Help us to be alert to the needs of others, taking each opportunity to be Your hands and feet. Amen."
*****
For a closer look on how kingdom siblings interact, see Titus 2.
Click HERE to receive free weekly articles in your inbox. Your information will never be shared.
©2023 Julianne Knapp. First published 4.11.23
CC