Matthew 12:46-50

Is doing the will of the Father important? Absolutely—according to Jesus. So much so that He says those who do the will of God are more spiritually connected to Him as family than even our own flesh and blood. In fact, those closest to us can sometimes serve as our greatest impediment if they are not following God.

As revolutionary as this may have sounded at the time, I believe Jesus was warning us not to treat anything or anyone as more important than God.

This is something Jesus clearly lived out in His own life. Aside from His mother, Mary, most—if not all—of the rest of His family did not believe who He was and even ridiculed Him at times. Yet James and Jude, His brothers, eventually came around and believed after witnessing the resurrected Christ. James, specifically, received a personal appearance from the risen Christ, as mentioned by Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:7. How incredible that encounter must have been! I wonder how that conversation went.

Sometimes family is the hardest to win over—a reality Jesus Himself experienced, prompting Him to say:

“A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown and among his own family.”
—Matthew 13:57 (NLT)

And let’s not forget His words found in Matthew 10:37:

“If you love your father or mother more than you love me, you are not worthy of being mine; or if you love your son or daughter more than me, you are not worthy of being mine.”

God must be first and foremost in our lives if we expect to be considered children of God.

And just in case we are still unsure that He truly meant it, consider Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:21:

“Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter.”

So back to the original question: Is doing the will of God important?

Decide for yourself. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.