Today’s scripture: Mark 12:18-27 (ESV-text and audio) (KJV) (The Message)
As you read, consider: What might God be saying to me? Summarize your thoughts in a sentence or two.
My thoughts (Brent Walsh):
Someone recently challenged me to tell him what I believe is the purpose of a relationship. “Not just with a spouse,” he said, “but with anyone; with a parent, with a sibling, with a friend — anyone of importance to you.” I was caught off guard, not sure how to answer. I had never thought about it quite that way before!
After mulling it over, I concluded that the purpose of a relationship is to provide a sense of belonging. When I develop any kind of relationship with another person, it is because I feel like I belong. When I was a child, I felt like I belonged in my family, so that allowed me to build relationships with my parents and siblings. When I went to college, I developed relationships with peers who made me feel like I belonged in their circle of friends. When I met and fell in love with Julie, she made me feel like I belonged by her side, thus enabling a serious relationship to form.
Just as I believe that a sense of belonging is required to form a relationship, I believe that it is required to maintain one as well. If, for example, I graduate from college and move away, my sense of belonging within my circle of friends might fade and I might lose touch with people I thought I’d be friends with forever. If a family member would start making me feel like I no longer “belong,” my relationship with them would start to deteriorate. If too much distance starts to creep between me and my spouse, I might start feeling like I no longer belong by her side, thereby threatening my relationship with her.
In this passage, the Sadducees were probably trying to trick Jesus by asking a question about a widow who outlives seven husbands. “At the resurrection,” they said, “whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?” Jesus answered, “When the dead rise, they will neither marry, nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven.” When I ponder this, it makes me reflect on the question I was challenged with about relationships.
I think it is a natural comfort to believe that the relationships we have on earth will just pick up in heaven where they left off. But the purpose of our earthly relationships will be very different beyond the pearly gates. While I think we will still know and love those we spend our lives with here on earth, the need to “belong” will be completely fulfilled in the presence of God. We will not look to each other for a place to call home, but rather to the One who is, even now, preparing our eternal place in heaven.
Prayer for the day: God, thank you for the ways you provide places and people for us to belong with here in this life. Thank you for your promises of the next life.
We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the guidelines on the How to Pray page.