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During a clash of opinions, our adult son declared, “You pray too much, Mom! You attend church so much that you have isolated yourself away from reality! You are living in a pod!”

“A what?” I asked.

“A pod. You’ve created your own space!”

“You’ve done that!” I responded.

“No!” he countered. “I live in the real world! I see it as it really is! You don’t!”

Although we had read the Bible with him daily, had prayed several times a day with him, had taken him to church and Sunday School with us, had prayed with him when he prayed to receive salvation, and had paid for his tuition to attend Christian school, he had chosen to reject our instruction and drift away from his early commitment. Instead, as an adult, he had accepted the world’s secular view.

Jesus’ family also held a secular view of circumstances so that he had to deal with their reaction to his ministry just as that ministry was beginning to grow. He had appointed his disciples in Mark 3:14-15 and had given them authority to drive out demons when his family showed up and saw the crowd that had gathered around Him. However, Jesus' family did not share His calling. Instead, they feared that He had created His own fantasy world so that they declared that He was “out of His mind!” (Mark 3:21)

Although Jesus’ family had been around Him all their lives, they still didn’t understand who He was or what His calling was. When I remembered that Jesus’ family thought He was crazy, then I was able to stand up to our son’s accusation.

That accusation continues to be one of my greatest compliments. Oh, that I would be truly guilty of praying too much and attending church too often!

Prayer: Mending Master, please open the eyes of my family and friends to see that I am following Your guidance. Please bring them into fellowship with You. In the name of Jesus, amen.

RELEVANT BIBLE PASSAGE

Mark 3: 7-21 (NIV) - 7 Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lake, and a large crowd from Galilee followed. 8 When they heard about all he was doing, many people came to him from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, and the regions across the Jordan and around Tyre and Sidon. 9 Because of the crowd he told his disciples to have a small boat ready for him, to keep the people from crowding him. 10 For he had healed many, so that those with diseases were pushing forward to touch him. 11 Whenever the impure spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.” 12 But he gave them strict orders not to tell others about him. 13 Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. 14 He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach 15 and to have authority to drive out demons. 16 These are the twelve he appointed: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter), 17 James son of Zebedee and his brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, which means “sons of thunder”), 18 Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot 19 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. 20 Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. 21 When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”