Who Are Our Brothers and Sisters?

Do we think about the importance of our church families? When was the last time that you thought to yourself, "man, I would be distraught if I lost contact with one of them"? Have you ever really thought about the importance of being in the family of the Church? Have you thought about the fact that we say "brothers and sisters" about our fellow church members, and what that should mean in regards to how we approach these relationships? Today, let's briefly look at what Jesus had to say about the family of God and how important it should be in our lives.

While Jesus was preaching one day, his mom and siblings came to wherever He was preaching and wanted to speak with Him. One of people around, probably a disciple, came up to Jesus at a break point and said "Hey, your mom and brothers are here and wanna talk to you (Luke 8:20, Bryan Watts Paraphrase)."

Now, before I tell you Jesus' response, I want to remind you of some context here. Jesus has been at home in Nazareth, with His family, until He was thirty. This is a guy who had helped around the family business, spent years in town, etc. Jesus wasn't the kid that turned 18 and bolted for the furthest college that He could go to; He was with His family until He was thirty. Then, upon turning thirty, He proceeded to start His ministry, traveling all about the countryside, preaching the Good News of the Kingdom.

He probably hasn't seen His family for some time. They probably miss Him. My guess is that they had made a special trip to wherever He was in order to see Him. His response?

"My mother and My brothers are those who hear and do the word of God." -Luke 8:21, HCSB

What the what, Jesus?! Doesn't this seem insensitive? Doesn't this seem uncaring? Is He rejecting His family?

What I believe we are seeing here is not a commentary on how much Jesus loved His Earthly family, because I believe He loved them very much. Instead, I believe we see how much more He loves His spiritual family, the Church, and by extension, how much we should love them.

Christ died on behalf of His people. He longs for us to be in relationship with Him. His desire is for us to be with Him in glory and reign alongside Him for eternity, He as the Groom and the Church as His bride. That's us. He loves us that much.

Yet, despite how much our Savior loves us, how often do we disregard our family of faith? Names like "brothers" and "mother" are familial terms! We're the body of Christ, His beloved Bride, and we spend so much time ignoring our relationship with one another! We wouldn't ignore and disregard our families like that, would we? We are to be a family, even more so than our Earthly families. We're a body, made of many important, indispensable members, and it is crucial that we stay together.

Our church needs us and we need our churches. Be there for them. Love them. Appreciate them. Help them. Be active for them. Serve them. It is your calling, Christian. Don't neglect her; if she is loved enough by Christ that He died for her, then we should love her in a similar fashion.

Today, reach out to a part of the local body you belong to. Say hello, check in on them, do something kind for them. If you are not a member of a local church, find one. get involved in Christ's church; it is absolutely a must for the Christian to be in the body of Christ.

Let's stop neglecting our brothers and sisters. Christ died to make the family of God what it is; don't reject His work on the cross to bring us together by ignoring His bride.