Welcome to another day the Lord has made that we should rejoice and be glad in. (Psalms 118:24)

Today, let’s focus on identifying our relationships as God does.

In today’s scripture, Mark 3:31-35 (NLT), we read…
[31] Then Jesus’ mother and brothers came to see him. They stood outside and sent word for him to come out and talk with them. [32] There was a crowd sitting around Jesus, and someone said, “Your mother and your brothers are outside asking for you.” [33] Jesus replied, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” [34] Then he looked at those around him and said, “Look, these are my mother and brothers. [35] Anyone who does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”

Consider…
There’s an old proverb that says, ‘blood is thicker than water’, which means a family connection will outweigh other relationships.

Well, Hebrews 2:11-14 (NLT) lends credence to the proverb. It says…
[11] So now Jesus and the ones he makes holy have the same Father. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them his brothers and sisters. [12] For he said to God, “I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters. I will praise you among your assembled people.” [13] He also said, “I will put my trust in him,” that is, “I and the children God has given me.” [14] Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death.

Notice, Jesus called us His brothers and sisters. Also, pay attention to the fact that Jesus became flesh and blood, to sacrifice it for our salvation. Hebrews 9:12 (NLT) explains…
[12] With his own blood—not the blood of goats and calves—he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever.

You see, Christ redeeming blood is thicker than water, meaning it outweighs any other relationship we have. Well, it should…

In Luke 14:26 (NLT), Jesus demanded…
[26] “If you want to be my disciple, you must, by comparison, hate everyone else—your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple.

Here we read that Jesus Christ, who shed His blood for us, says unequivocally that He must be the most important person in our lives!

That aligns with today’s scripture, where Jesus is saying, those who share my heart to obey my Father, are my true family.

John 1:12-13 (NLT) expounds on our family connection by explaining…
[12] But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. [13] They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.

Notice, when we accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, we are born again. This means, we become part of a new family, God’s family.

As amazing as becoming part of God’s family is, I find it even more mind blowing that God decided to make us family in advance. Ephesians 1:5-7 (NLT) says…
[5] God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. [6] So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. [7] He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins.

And if that wasn’t enough, God chose us to be younger siblings of His only begotten Son. Romans 8:29 (NLT)…
[29] For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.

Perhaps, that’s why Jesus taught us to pray “Our Father in Heaven” (Matthew 6:9).

Speaking of praying to God our Father, Romans 8:14-16 (NLT) reinforces our familial relationship with Him. It affirms…
[14] For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. [15] So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” [16] For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children.

Moreover, we truly know we are siblings of Christ because Romans 8:17 (NLT) explains…
[17] And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.

God says we are heirs that share! He says we share both the glory and suffering of Jesus Christ.

I could go on and on about how God sees us as His children, and expects us to act accordingly (1 Peter 1:14-16). But the Holy Spirit is leading me to leave you with the following.

As siblings in Christ, God wants us to love each other. 1 John 4:19-21 (NLT) tells us…
[19] We love each other because he loved us first. [20] If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a fellow believer, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see? [21] And he has given us this command: Those who love God must also love their fellow believers.

So today’s post is directed to my fellow believers in Jesus Christ, love one another like Christ’s redeeming blood is thicker than water.

Our Heavenly Father wants His children to love one another, so that together they can love others into the family.

The Holy Spirit is telling me to leave you with the same questions Jesus asked…

Who is mother?
Who are my brothers?
Better yet, we should simply ask who is my family?

Today’s Song is…
We Will Stand

Blessings 4HG (1 Corinthians 10:31)