Sometimes I laugh and say that there was no way I could have escaped coming to Christ. My family has a long legacy of faith that goes all the way back to the pilgrims arriving on the Mayflower. Both my grandfathers were pastors. My father and uncle were pastors. My brother and several cousins were also ordained. God has been gracious to our extended family for many generations.
In Matthew 8:14,15, the gospel writer reports a brief incident that occurred away from the noisy public crowds. Jesus visited in the home of Peter and found Peter’s mother-in-law sick in bed with a high fever. There in the privacy of that home, Jesus touched this woman. A Jewish man touching a woman in public was improper, but to touch a female still lying in her bed? A female who was not a relative? Unthinkable! Yet Jesus took her by the hand, the fever left, and she rose to serve them.
We don’t know if this mother-in-law was a believer. We hear nothing more about her after this incident. All we know is that Jesus offered God’s grace not only to Peter but to his extended family.
Over and over, God has shown me that Jesus cares not just about those who follow him but also about those they love. He watches over my aging parents and my grown children who are believers, but also my young grandchildren who do not yet know him.
Today, before you become swept up in the day’s activities, take a moment and pray for those you love. Remember that God loves them too.
