Matthew 12:48-49
“But He answered and said to the one who told Him, ‘Who is My mother and who are My brothers?’ And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, ‘Here are My mother and My brothers!’”
I am a firm believer in the importance of maintaining good relations with the extended family, that is, relationships with our parents, siblings, uncles, aunties, in-laws, etc. It’s a credit to the gospel that we maintain peaceful relations with those beyond our nuclear family, but it must be a relationship that is determined and defined by correct location. In the story above, Jesus’ mother and siblings stayed “outside” and wanted to speak with Him, meaning that they wanted Jesus to leave His Father’s instruction to meet with them, His earthly family members; which He naturally refused to do.
Our extended family must never be allowed to take us away from the presence of God or the will of God. It is not God’s will that those outside should take us away from being inside with God. You need to let your extended family members realize that they cannot remove you from serving God; but on the contrary, they cannot have full access to you if they remain outside. Parents and siblings are important, but they need to align with God and not take us away from God. We must not leave the duties or priorities of God because of family. We must not let them do that to us. Of course, this principle is not applied to the issue of wife and children because the dynamics are slightly different when it comes to the nuclear family,
“Father, You know how much I love my extended family, but I have decided that I cannot love them above You and I will not be pulled away from You for any reason. Help me maintain this clear stand and clear message at all times, in Jesus name. Amen.”
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