The church as family, day by day - Mark 3

Using as a base for devotions, Day by Day by Charles Swindoll.

today's scripture is based on Mark 3.

In this chapter we read about a man with a withered hand, a great crowd that follows Jesus, the 12 apostles that follow Jesus about Jesus using the words of the Jewish Leaders to defend himself and about Jesus stating where his first allegiance lies.

It's an awfully varied chapter and it's hard to pick where to focus, and reading through what Charles Swindoll had to say on it wasn't particularly helpful...and I'm really not sure how this passage pertains to memories and how the church becomes family... didn't make any sense to me, so... I'm back to reading it over again and seeing how God will speak to me today.  :)

I read through this passage again and what jumped out at me where two things

1. Jesus is making a new way - he challenged what could be done on the Sabbath by healing a man, he chose apostles, he taught people, he forbade the evil spirits to talk about him, he went without food in order to teach, he challenged the religious leaders and he chose his ministry and his love of God before his physical family.

2.²⁰ Then he went home, and the crowd gathered again, so that they could not even eat. ²¹  And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He is out of his mind.” I read that and thought HUH?  What is this all about?  I do not understand why this would cause his family to think he'd lost his mind.   It still doesn't make sense to me.

And when they came to get him, he refused to go with them saying that those who do the will of God are his family.  

³¹  And his mother and his brothers came, and standing outside they sent to him and called him. ³² And a crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers are outside, seeking you.” ³³ And he answered them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” ³⁴ And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! ³⁵  For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.”

ah... and thus I see where Charles gets his family thing. :)   Family ..... do we truly consider the people that we worship with, who are part of the visible and invisible church of God.. do we truly consider them to be family? Jesus did.    In fact he left his family who wanted to pull him away from his ministry to teach and lead and guide his spiritual family. 

I have to admit, I don't feel like I have family in this church, with the exception of a few.   Maybe that's my fault, maybe it isn't.   I don't know.   There are times when I long for closeness with those I worship with.   But I don't know how to gain that either.  Today I'm left with more questions than answers...