Pastor's Weekly Devotion

Mark 3:31, “And his mother and his brothers came, and standing outside they sent to him and called him.”

One day Jesus was talking with those gathered around Him and His brothers and mother showed up. They requested that He come out to them. It is never good to try to dictate Jesus’ schedule and ministry activity. Yet, this is what they tried to do. In response to their efforts Jesus explained the importance of doing God’s will. He explained, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21) Furthermore, John explained, “The world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.” (1 John 2:17) Notice the common theme in both of these verses regarding doing or not doing the will of God. Jesus presents the clear reality between doing the will of God and eternal life. I believe first and foremost that God’s will is for us to believe on His Son Jesus Christ for salvation. Consider what Jesus said, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” (John 6:29) If we desire to do God’s will then we must surrender our lives to Christ. Jesus’ family seemingly interrupted His efforts. Perhaps, they thought they knew best what Jesus needed to do. However, we will never be able to do God’s will if at first we fail to surrender to the Lord Jesus. We don’t get to dictate the terms. Rather, it is a life of surrender.