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A TALE OF TWO FAMILIES

As Jesus was speaking to the crowd, his mother and brothers were outside, wanting to talk with him. Someone told Jesus, "Your mother and your brothers are outside, and they want to speak to you." Jesus asked, "Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?" Then he pointed to his disciples and said, "These are my mother and brothers. Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother!"   – Matthew 12:46-50 (NLT)

      The old saying, “blood is thicker than water” originated as a statement acknowledging the importance of genetic ties over that of spiritual ties. “Blood” stood for family, while “water” was a descriptive term for all who had experienced Christian baptism. The idea was that the family comes before the church. Jesus turns that idea on its head by clarifying the issue. Our real mother, brothers and sisters are those who share our common confession of faith. Ideally those related to us by blood will also be related to us by water ties, but that is not always the case.

      Our spiritual family consists of those who join us in obedience to the Heavenly Father. It is with this family and only with this family, that we are able to truly worship and move forward together in purpose. It is this family with which we pray, rejoice, weep, and share our most intimate thoughts and experiences.