The Greater Family Mark 3:31-34
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Scripture Reading:
Scripture Reading:
And his mother and his brothers came, and standing outside they sent to him and called him. And a crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers are outside, seeking you.” And he answered them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers!
The Greater Family
Many of us are familiar with the saying, "You choose your friends, but you don’t choose your family." Families are given to us, not chosen by us. We’re born into circumstances and relationships that we didn’t ask for. Sometimes those bonds are beautiful; other times, they are difficult. But regardless of the dynamics, family teaches us a lot, and they shape us deeply.
I love my family, though that wasn’t always the case. When I was younger, my older brother felt more like an enemy than a friend. We clashed, he found me irritatable, and I found him a bully. We bothered one another. Yet over time, through shared experiences and growing trust, we learned to love each other. What once felt like a burden became a blessing.
The Church is like that too. It’s a family that’s not always easy, or desirable, but always necessary for Gods purposes. In Mark 3, Jesus revealed the “new family” created in faith, and pointed to it as the greater reality of family. A spiritual and eternal family. It’s a family bound not by biology, but by the blood of Christ. Through faith, we are adopted by God as Father, becoming brothers and sisters in Christ.
If you think about it, a Church family is unlike any other group we belong to. In most of life, we gravitate toward people like us—friends who share our interests, coworkers with similar goals, neighbors we see every day. But the Church isn’t built on similarity or convenience. It’s built on Christ.
It’s like a family reunion where you walk in and realize that you’re related to people you would never have chosen on your own. Some are older, some younger; some come from completely different walks of life. Yet here we all are, sharing a common name and a Christ blood bond, because God has made brought us into a local expression of His family.
This is a family we are called into, not one we choose for ourselves. While we may decide which local church to attend, the Church isn’t simply a gathering of people we "like" or share interests with. What binds us together is not our preferences, but the faith that God has given us—a faith rooted in Christ. This shared faith is what unites a richly diverse body of people: young and old, Jew and Greek, slave and free, male and female. The Church’s diversity magnifies the power of this common faith and glorifies, God because it demonstrates the power of His Spirit to create harmony out of difference, bringing together what the world could never unify.
So, as we gather today for prayer, let us remember that we are not just individuals coming together for a moment of shared worship. We are a spiritual family,—an imperfect but redeemed family—joined by Covenant in Christ. We are called to love one another, bear one anothers burdens. we are called to fulfill the scriputres together. As we pray, let us remember that we are speaking to our Father in Heaven, who has adopted us into His family and made us one in Christ. Let us lift up one another’s burdens, rejoice in each other’s victories, and seek God’s will for His family, His Church, and the world.