Water that is Thicker than Blood
Matthew 12:28-50
And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.[Matthew 12:49-50]
You have heard the saying, Blood is thicker than water. We know what that saying means regarding biological family. However, Jesus had a different view. While there is a strong bond between biological family, your spiritual family bond is stronger, or at least it should be. That may be difficult for some to receive, but according to Jesus it is true. Your spiritual family is of the utmost importance in this life of faith, and that is why it is important for you to be in fellowship and involved at a local Church.
Notice the undeniable action, He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, Here are My mother and brothers! The exclamation point reveals the emphasis that Jesus spiritual family was His true family.
Also notice these are not ones who simply believe. James said that even the devils believe [ref. Jms 2:19]. True spiritual family are disciples [followers] of Christ, and there is a cost to following Christ [ref. Matt 8:18-22]. That cost is leaving the world behind, and sometimes even biological family.
Now, biological family will always be biological family, but if they are not followers of Christ, they are not spiritual family. What we can observe in our passage is that Jesus places a priority of fellowship with His spiritual family. He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, Here are My mother and My brothers!
This is where it gets a bit tricky because we love our physical family. But when they are not walking with Christ there is little common ground. Fellowship with unbelieving family members usually takes on one of two forms; either they are uncomfortable doing things of the Lord with you or you are uncomfortable doing things of the world with them. The biblical term is being unequally yoked. Yes, we can be unequally yoked with our own biological family. Can two walk together unless they are agreed? [Amos 3:3] A profound question indeed!
It is important as Christians that we fellowship with spiritual family, which means getting plugged into a local Church, not just attending, but finding a way to serve. That is how we grow and become protected and covered spiritually. But it is just as important that we do not fellowship with our unsaved biological family. That is how we stray and become unprotected and uncovered.
Fellowship means to share something with another person in a deep way; friendly relation and companionship [The Believer Plugged In]. Do this with other Christians; develop friendships with followers of Christ, your spiritual family, and you will experience protection, covering, and blessing in this life of faith.
