Stress Test Devotional April 27
April 27, 2024
MARK 3:31-35
Then his mother and his brothers came; and standing outside, they sent to him and called him. A crowd was sitting around him; and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers and sisters are outside, asking for you.” And he replied, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” And looking at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”
Nothing is more beautiful than a close family! But family loyalty comes second to loyalty to Christ. When family discourages or inhibits faith, then it cannot dictate the shape of a believer’s life. This was often traumatic in the first century. Families in the pagan world practiced a domestic cult, where often an entire family would together honor their household gods with libations and prayers. When a Christ follower opted out of pagan rites, conflict ensued, just as it did for followers who didn’t want to sacrifice in the cult of the emperors. Faith, ultimately, is an individual decision, and it requires a loyalty above every other.
PRAYER
Gracious God, help me honor parents and children and relatives in real and concrete ways, by acts of support and kindness. Help me also to have a primary loyalty to you that orders and shapes all my other relationships. Do not let other obligations inhibit my growth in Christ. Where I must choose, grant me courage. Amen.
