The Family

 

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK

THE FAMILY

Mark 10:28-31

28 Peter said to him, "We have left everything to follow you!"

29 "I tell you the truth," Jesus replied, "no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel 30 will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields — and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first." 

NIV

There is a difference of thought by our scholars of old regarding these words of Jesus, but of course, they are of old and the world, and the church, were quite different in their times than of ours today. Why would that matter and why did we even consider that it mattered? There was a great deal more formality in both society and, in perhaps a greater sense, of purity or at least puritanical thinking in the church. So their interpretations may well have been influenced by the current sentiment of thought within the Church. In addition, we also have to always consider their denominational bias which also has some impact on their writings. So do we disregard them? We too have certain aspects of both our society in the world and the church which may well have some bearing on how we approach the word. So how do we handle these words of Jesus? Was he just speaking to his disciples because after his ascension they did travel the countryside preaching the gospel and as was the custom of that day, as they traveled they would have found lodging in homes of people friendly to their message? So in a sense, as they may have left many families behind, they found a far greater family of believers ahead. Certainly today we might find lodging on occasion among friends in other towns, but most likely the great abundance of hotels are our lodging. Nevertheless, there is another sense we might take his words. Although our ancestral family will always be our family as we are connected by genetics, there may well be a separation due to our becoming a follower of Jesus. Our moral compasses have taken to point in different directions. Our views of current events may well have even caused a chasm between us. Yet, as we gather in the house of God and with those other believers we find a closeness, a new family as it is, with those who love the Lord as we do, and we may well find a far greater number than we ever had in our genetic family. What we can also be certain of is that as we left any family behind for the sake of the gospel we absolutely will find eternal life. Once again, a promise by Jesus and He has never failed to keep his promise. Yes, we will always love our family members from which we were born into. There will never nor could ever be anything that would shake our love for them. However, they may not feel the same, and feel that we have left them, or betrayed them in some manner and thus in a certain sense persecute us with their criticism of our faith. This is certainly true in other cultures today, where one who accepts Jesus is considered dead by their family and cast out. Yet, the truth still stands, that as we leave one family in one sense, we gain a far greater number in the family of God, and we gain eternal life. As far as the first and last, we may never know exactly what he meant.  This could be the Jews and the Gentiles, as the Jews who were first, rejected Jesus and the last, us Gentiles are now first, and at some point, the Jews will return to Jesus, as it is said that all of Israel will be saved. That could mean Israel as a nation, or as Paul has said whoever is circumcised in the heart is now Israel. Either way, we can be sure that it does not matter first or last, we all will be there in heaven with Jesus and all the family of God.