Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

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Family - a place for doing God's will
Mark 3 : 31 - 35 
Vs.35 "Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”
 Family is a gift of God to humanity. It is the basic unit of the church and society. In a changing world, all families need to be equipped to face the realities of today. Families are constituted by marriage. We believe that marriage is an institution of divine appointment. God saw that it was not good for man to be alone so He made a suitable life partner for him. It is through this life long covenant between husband and wife that the family exists. It is a real truth that human beings are not created for independent existence but for interdependent living.
       Jesus Christ was a member of a family. He had parents and siblings. Jesus' family is known as the Holy Family. This conversation (Mark 3: 31-35) is seen in other synoptic gospels (Mathew 12: 44 - 50 and Luke 8: 19 - 21). When the people told Him " your mother and brothers are outside looking for you, Jesus answered "who are my mother and my brothers." It doesn't have a negative meaning, but the spirit behind the answer is that whoever does what God wants him/her to do is my brother, sister or mother. What does it mean? Doing God's will is important to be a member of His family, or in other words, a member of His family is expected to do God's will.
   Church is the family of families and Christ is its head. As family is an institution of divine appointments, all family members are intended to do His will on this earth. In Lord's prayer we pray - Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. It means Your will be done in our families. Family is subject to God's purpose, direction and discipline and it is a place for doing God's will. Christian families are expected to be a miniature of the Holy Family and the kingdom of God. Our duty is to build up heaven on this earth.
 PRAYER
Heavenly Father, help us to do Your will in our families to become a miniature of the Holy Family in this world. Amen
 THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Family, a place for doing God's will.
Rev. Aji Varghese, St. Thomas MTC, Karimba, Palakkad

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