Many try to go through life with no instructions or bad instructions! But, what about those who have God’s instructions but don’t read and apply them? B.I.B.L.E. can stand for Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth. Jesus says that those who hear God’s Word and put it into practice are His family.
I. Hebrews 8:3-6. The Bible itself tells us there is a pattern of sound teaching (2 Timothy 1:13-14). Aaron’s sons tried to follow their own pattern, and it didn’t go well (Leviticus 10:1-2). Because what Moses would build in the desert was a shadow of the reality in heaven, he was told to build the tabernacle according to the pattern shown to him on the mountain. God’s Word is a pattern for us to build our lives.
II. Luke 8:19-21. The theme of Luke 8 is putting God’s Word into practice. In the parable of the sower (Luke 8:4-15), it is the one who hears the Word, retains it, and perseveres in it who produces a crop. Like a light, we are to put God’s Word on a stand by living it out for others to see (Luke 8:16-18). So, it is no wonder that Jesus considers family those who hear God’s Word and put it into practice.
III. 1 John 2:3-6. Though it is popular to call everyone a child of God, it is those who obey God that He considers His children (1 John 3:10). Since Jesus is the ‘Word made flesh,’ it is no wonder that He is the perfect and sinless example of how we are to live our lives. When we walk as Jesus did, we hear God’s Word and put it into practice. We must read and apply God’s instructions to do this.
Many say that ‘blood is thicker than water’ to justify that family is more important than friends or strangers. But, with Jesus, ‘His blood is thicker than our genetics,’ meaning that those who are walking as He did while on earth, as recorded in His Word, are closer to Him than physical family.