Doing the will of God

And the multitude sat about him, and they said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren without seek for thee. And he answered them, saying, Who is my mother, or my brethren? And he looked round about on them which sat about him, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother. Mark 3:32-35

"Whoever shall do the will of God" - what does that mean? Does it means doing what seems right in our eyes? No, for this was the fundamental problem in the times of the Judges. Does it mean doing what makes us feel good? No, for the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Does it mean doing what other people around us think we should do? Not necessarily, though we should be willing to listen to advice - we don't want to be fools in the Proverbs sense. But the fact of the matter is that truth has never had popular opinion as its ally.

Where then shall we seek the will of God? There is only one place: God's word. And all of God's word - the Law, the Prophets, the Psalms, the Gospels, and the Epistles - that is to say, the entire Bible, Old and New Testaments. In these pages God has spoken. It is to the law and to the testimony that we must seek: if we do not, it is because there is no light in us (Isa. 8:20).

What is said about those who do the will of God? They are the children of God, the family of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, his brothers, sisters, and mothers. They have been drawn into the closest bonds of fellowship, not only with each other, but most of all with God himself. There is no greater privilege. It is no wonder that our Lord said that those who believe in him and follow his word will know the truth and this truth will set them free (Jn. 8:31-32).

Let us seek the will of God for our lives today. Let all of life be lived in the light of God's truth and word. After all, it is what we are taught to pray: "Thy will be done, in earth as it is in heaven" (Mt. 6:10).