“Now Jesus’ mother and brothers came to see him, but they were not able to get near him because of the crowd.  Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you.” He replied, “My mother and brothers are those who hear God’s word and put it into practice.” (Luke 8:19-21)

     Jesus loved his family beyond the shadow of a doubt.  In this one instance, he was to make a choice: would he spend time with his family, or would he spend time with others whom he called his mothers and brothers because they shared a common faith?  It is quite possible that he could have spent time with both.  The point is that his extended family (and ours) can be all people who find peace within when they put their trust in the Lord, regardless of whether we are biologically related or not.  Let’s not forget the new command Jesus gave, “love one another.” (John 13:34) We will go a long way toward following through on this command when we consider who all of the members of our family are, knowing that we love all of them.

Prayer: Dear Lord, thank you for the people around me who share a faith in you.  Those are the people I can lean on when the going gets tough.  It is great that you have provided a way for us to get all the help we need.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.