Today Jesus redefines our understanding of familial relationships saying, ‘My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.’ Those of us who both listen to His teaching and live it out are his true family. In other words, our relationship with Jesus is deepest when we are wholeheartedly committed to doing God’s will.

If we want to be wholeheartedly committed to doing God’s will then that means everything else in our life must take its place in relation to Jesus, the King of Kings. Whatever has claimed the throne of our lives must surrender, for only Jesus belongs at the centre; all else must follow behind Him.

All of us, especially myself, has something or someone that we at times place before Jesus. Perhaps, it’s success and fame, education and knowledge, health and fitness, friendships and relationships, or hobbies and passions. It could even be your own wife, husband, or family. Pursuing these things are not bad or evil, in fact are very noble. However, when you place any of these as your highest value then that’s when we invite disaster into our lives. When any of these things become our ultimate good then that’s when our spiritual life starts to go off the rails.

To make Jesus the centre of our lives means that it is Him alone who is our deepest desire. To be truly authentic in hearing and doing God’s will, we must each honestly ask: what—or who—sits at the centre of my life?