A Spectacle Of Glory #88

Read: John 20:16-17

Throughout His life on earth, Jesus had a number of special names for His followers. He called them His servants, His sheep, His little flock, His children, and His beloved. At the Last Supper, Jesus went beyond all these and actually named them as His friends. But everything changed after the resurrection. It was then that Christ referred to His disciples as His brothers. When He met Mary Magdalene in the garden on the day He rose from the dead, He told her, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended . . . Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ” He couldn’t call them blood relatives until after He paid the penalty of sin. Christ’s death and resurrection made it possible to share the same genes, so to speak, as the Son of God. As difficult as it is to comprehend, we are now family.

Lord Jesus, to think You have given me the privilege to call You my Brother and my Friend! I can hardly wrap my mind around that. Today, right now, I am a sibling of God’s Son, the Creator of the universe. And my heavenly Father calls me His own child! What wonders these are! I am in awe of Your grace and love.