The Teacher is here calling for you

John 11: 27-28 She said to him, "Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world." When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private, "The Teacher is here and is calling for you."

Do you have a habit? Is there something in your life that your carry out ritually? There are good habits, and bad habits. I have both in my life. Chances are that you also have good and bad habits. Welcome to humanity. None of us is perfect or without flaws.

I have developed a habit with the devotionals that I write. Some folks call it a good habit, some folks call it a bad habit. I leave it to the readers to judge. My habit is that I tend to talk about sharing our faith with others. I do not offer any apologies for this habit. It is what it is. I think I am okay with having this habit. My justification is that in the “Great Commission” (see Matthew 28:16-20) we are called to share this faith with others. It may make some of the devotionals a bit tedious, but it is what it is. John 11: 27-28 essentially lays out how we should be doing. Verse 27 (She said to him, "Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.") is the part where we confess our faith. Verse 28 (When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private, "The Teacher is here and is calling for you." ) is where we share what we confess. The story of Mary and Martha is a fascinating story. They are polar opposites in their expression of faith. Martha is task oriented, believes in Christ, yet does not expressively display that faith for others to see. Mary is open, expressive, and focused in her faith. Luke 10 and John 12 are sources you can go to for more information on these wonderful sisters.  Can you relate to either of these sisters in your faith walk? Are you one or the other? Interestingly you may be a little of both at different times in you life or even during your day. But the one thing I want to focus on here is in Verse 28. Martha confesses her faith and then she turns to her sister and tells her that Jesus (The Teacher) is here and is calling Mary. One of our greatest opportunities to minister to others is within our own family. We may have parents, siblings, children, or even grandchildren that we can share Christ with. We have many opportunities in our lives to have conversations with our family members where we have the opportunity to share the love of Christ with those who know Christ, or do not know Christ. If you are like me, you have a mixture of believers and nonbelievers in your family. I look at this situation as an opportunity to share with those I love and am close to, that which I am most grateful for. Keeping the light of Christ covered up or under a shade with your family misses what Jesus shared with us in John 11:27-28. We need to let our family know, just as Martha let Mary know. The Teacher is here and is calling you.

PRAYER: Father, Abba, You bless us with family. These are the people in our lives we knew first. They know us for all our glory and our faults. We are blessed with family. Help us to share Your message with our family. Let the words “The Teacher is here and is calling you” be our words to our family. We ask this in the name of Your Son, Jesus. Who with the Father and the Spirit are One in heaven, Amen.