Thursday Reading: Mark 3 31-35
 
Key Verse: Mark 3 35
35  For whoever does the will of God, the same is My brother and My sister and My mother.

 

Devotion:
Do you ever wonder at Christ's life on earth and wonder if He gave special care to Joseph, Mary and their children? Well, I am pretty sure that He would have had a soft spot for them because they all grew up together, but Christ knew from the start that He was here for all people and not just for His earthly family. We need to take some examples from His life and apply them into our own lives – one of those being our extended family, the church family.

 

We come together to praise and worship Him in church where we show each other love and care, but what do we do when we leave our churches... Do we go back to our “normal” earthly lives, or do we continue to be the Christians that we proclaim to be in church. Too many people do live two lives, one in church and the other out of church. Christ, on the other hand, lived one life which was constant. Wherever He went and whatever He did, He showed His eternal love for all those that would be willing to accept it. Whoever was willing to follow God's Word (i.e. To do His will) would be given the same love as a family member.

 

We need to stand up to that sort of faithfulness and show those around us just how much we do care. It saddens me when people around me show no respect to Christ, by using His name in vain or by simply ignoring the fact that He exists. It saddens me to know that they are not sharing in the same love that I have from Him, that same care that I have. It is because I do feel like I belong to the family that is God's children that I can know He cares and know that He loves me. Just showing a bit of that love to others can encourage them to seek what I have found and to belong to this same family.

 

Points to Ponder:
Did you feel loved when your parents gave you your presents this Christmas?

 

Have you thought of the gift that Christ gave you this Christmas?