We Seek Him 5

Mark 3:31-35

During that stretch of years when the relatives in my generation were all getting married, my cousins and I would often joke around by declaring to one another, “Hey, after this wedding we’ll be related!” Well, of course we would be related after the wedding. We were related before the wedding.

The joking aside, people joining together in marriage not only create their own small family, they become a link between two larger families. In a sense these separate families are united and a new family emerges.

Jesus himself made reference to a new type of family relation during his ministry. Who has come to visit Jesus? What question did Jesus pose? What does he say of those who do God’s will?

We are looking forward to this coming Sunday when two adults will be joining the church as new members. Joining the church is a public declaration of faith in Jesus Christ and a public commitment to becoming part of the church family. As members of a church family we have a shared claim on Jesus as our Savior, as well as a shared sense of caring for one another.

When we seek Jesus to have an encounter with him and enter into this relationship of faith, we are becoming part of a much larger group of people. We are becoming part of all those who have accepted Jesus. We are becoming part of all those who have believed and served the Lord in all the world.

As we seek Jesus and find him, we are changed. We are no longer alone, but united with the faithful across space and time. But there are some requirements that are expected of us. Just as joining the church is a declaration of the faithful behavior we will exhibit, declaring your belief in Christ is a commitment to doing the good work of God.

To be a brother or sister to Jesus we must not only seek him, we must do God’s will. And what is God’s will? In John 6:40 Jesus says, “my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life.” For us to do the will of God means that we will take part in helping others seek Jesus to have that relationship with him.

DAILY CHALLENGE: What do you do that makes you a brother or sister to Jesus?