Many of you know, I am not an only child. I have sisters and I have brothers. My brothers, especially the one who passed "Tony" would throw a punch at anyone who he thought looked at or said something out of the way to me. For some reason, I think we all had that one; or maybe you didn't.
Maybe you had the one who would give you anything you asked him for. Perhaps, the one who wouldn't do anything for you. Some of us have that one whose always asking us for stuff; or the one who will not do anything for you without giving you a thesis statement or dissertation first. If you are like me, that gets very old after a while. You get sick of all of the extra.
Fortunately for all of us, we have that one big brother who no matter what, he is always there for us. When we fall, he's there to lift us up. When we cry, he's there to wipe the tears from our eyes. If we need something, he is there to provide. The one thing I love most about him is he doesn't ask a lot of questions, even though he knows a lot about us.
He is patient and he is kind. He doesn't remind me of all things I have messed up and he loves me still. My big brother listens carefully to all of the things that make my heart ache. As a result, we are very close. Not because he does all of these wonderful things for me but simply because he is who he is and because I know no matter what, he is going to be there. He is not judgmental and he is not selfish.
Remember this, even though we have a family related by blood; because God is our father, that makes Jesus our big brother and therefore we all have a greater family. Spiritual ties are more important than blood ties. Don't get me wrong, blood ties are important but it is not merely as important as our spiritually related family. Blood ties do not give us the opportunity to spend eternity in heaven. It only comes through and by way of our spiritual connection to our big brother, Jesus the Christ.
With this being said, I invite you to become a part of my spiritual family. I invite you to meet and connect with God my father and Jesus my brother. Matthew 12:50 tells us exactly what we have to do: "For whoever does the will of My Father who is heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother." What this mean for us is simple. "Hear the word of God and obey it."
As you consider my invitation further, keep this in mind. God truly loves us and what he wants is to see a radical change; and it is only by his grace such a change can and will happen. Remember this, God does not save us because we change, God saves us so that we can and will change. The holy spirit does the work but, we must respond to the holy spirit's work through repentance and obedience. Don't let this frighten you. For most of us, radical changes in our lives will cause our blood relationships to no longer be our strongest ties. Instead, our spiritual relationship in which we have become part of God's family is now our strongest ties.
Maybe you had the one who would give you anything you asked him for. Perhaps, the one who wouldn't do anything for you. Some of us have that one whose always asking us for stuff; or the one who will not do anything for you without giving you a thesis statement or dissertation first. If you are like me, that gets very old after a while. You get sick of all of the extra.
Fortunately for all of us, we have that one big brother who no matter what, he is always there for us. When we fall, he's there to lift us up. When we cry, he's there to wipe the tears from our eyes. If we need something, he is there to provide. The one thing I love most about him is he doesn't ask a lot of questions, even though he knows a lot about us.
He is patient and he is kind. He doesn't remind me of all things I have messed up and he loves me still. My big brother listens carefully to all of the things that make my heart ache. As a result, we are very close. Not because he does all of these wonderful things for me but simply because he is who he is and because I know no matter what, he is going to be there. He is not judgmental and he is not selfish.
Remember this, even though we have a family related by blood; because God is our father, that makes Jesus our big brother and therefore we all have a greater family. Spiritual ties are more important than blood ties. Don't get me wrong, blood ties are important but it is not merely as important as our spiritually related family. Blood ties do not give us the opportunity to spend eternity in heaven. It only comes through and by way of our spiritual connection to our big brother, Jesus the Christ.
With this being said, I invite you to become a part of my spiritual family. I invite you to meet and connect with God my father and Jesus my brother. Matthew 12:50 tells us exactly what we have to do: "For whoever does the will of My Father who is heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother." What this mean for us is simple. "Hear the word of God and obey it."
As you consider my invitation further, keep this in mind. God truly loves us and what he wants is to see a radical change; and it is only by his grace such a change can and will happen. Remember this, God does not save us because we change, God saves us so that we can and will change. The holy spirit does the work but, we must respond to the holy spirit's work through repentance and obedience. Don't let this frighten you. For most of us, radical changes in our lives will cause our blood relationships to no longer be our strongest ties. Instead, our spiritual relationship in which we have become part of God's family is now our strongest ties.