Today we are reading from Mark 3:31-35:

31 Then his mother and his brothers came; and standing outside, they sent to him and called him. 32 A crowd was sitting around him; and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers and sisters are outside, asking for you.” 33 And he replied, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” 34 And looking at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”

Today we see Jesus say something that takes us aback at first.  Today we see Jesus talking about family.  It seems at though Jesus is condemning of family, but we know that is not what He is doing or what His intent is. Think through scripture and the love that He has for His mother. One of the last things that He does upon the cross is to make sure that His mother is taken care of. 

What Jesus is doing is not narrowing the scope of family, He is widening it.  Now family is not just those who are “kin” to Him, but family is all of those who do His will. Family is the ones who follow and obey.  Family is bigger than what we think it is.  Family is all of us. 

Today, if you follow Jesus, if you serve Him, if you love Him, we are family.  No matter what our race, our theology, our politics. If you follow Jesus, if you have placed your whole faith in Him for salvation, if you are walking by faith, if you have tasted grace, then we are brothers and sisters. 

Even if we are not “kin,” we are family. That’s what Jesus is doing today. He is widening the definition of what family is.  

What would it show the world, if we who are brothers and sisters in Christ, really lived like it?  What would it show the world if we who are family actually lived like it? 

Jesus takes us into His family today.  May we live with the confidence of the children of God today.  

If you’d like to get each day’s daily scripture reading sent to your phone along with this reading guide, text @39110 to 81010 to sign up!