To hear this Morning Devotion, please click here — Not your mamma’s faith
Luke 11:27 records a nice thing spoken by an unnamed woman toward Jesus — “Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you.”
How Jesus responded, however, had to have surprised everyone there. It certainly would have surprised me.
There was no statement of appreciation such as “I’m glad that you recognize my mother’s parenting skill but you should know that it is God my Father who has shaped my character.”
There is not even a record of Jesus saying a simple “Thank you.”
Instead, Jesus said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it” (v. 28).
Hmmm…….
I am certain that Jesus appreciated the kind words about His mother.
I am also certain, however, that Jesus wanted His hearers to know that a blessed life is the fruit of personal faith, not parental faith.
Please don’t misunderstand Jesus’ words here. He was not saying that parents shouldn’t have spiritual influence over their children. That would be a foolish claim in direct conflict with the teaching of Deuteronomy 6.
What IS implied, however, is that the promised blessing of peace with God is not gained through somebody else’s faith.
If I want to be blessed with inner peace along with earthly provision, I must tend to my relationship with God.
Jesus said a bit later in this chapter that there is no eternal substitute for a personal, surrendered relationship with Him. As bad as the Ninevites were in the Old Testament, their personal repentance and surrender to obeying God prompted them to have hope for eternal life (v. 32).
Here’s my take from today’s One-Year Bible reading from Luke 11 — Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that your parent’s role-model, nurturing faith can substitute for your personal devotion to God.
Chances are that few of you reading this are confused on this point.
But the chances are also good that somebody you know has fallen into the trap of simply appreciating his or her parent’s faith without committing to imitate that parent’s faith.
We live in an age when countless adult children have not embraced the faith of their mothers.
Let’s pray that God show us how to communicate this teaching that personal faith, not parental faith, is the key to receiving the blessings of God for this life and the next.
As always, I love you
Martin
