Listen to today’s devo!

From that time on, this disciple took her into his home. (John 19:27)

Expanded Passage: John 19:25-27

When I first moved to the United States, I lived with a host family. I had left my home in South America, defying a cultural norm that a middle child does not leave home before their older sibling. I was received by a Christian couple. They embraced me as part of their family and treated me like a son. I’m sure they were criticized for being extravagantly generous to a stranger, but they did not care. I was family to them, and they were family to me.

While hanging on the cross, Jesus took care of family business. He deviated from the cultural norms of his time to secure the well-being of his mother. Instead of entrusting her to his younger brothers, as was expected, Jesus conferred the responsibility to one of his disciples. The disciple, after all, was not just a student of Jesus; he had become family.

This scene should remind us that Jesus came to reconstitute the family of God. In Jesus, the relational links are meant to be stronger than family ties. Beyond cultural family norms, Jesus entrusts the care of the defenseless ones to his disciples. The vulnerable should find, among Christ’s followers, a welcoming home. If we gather at the cross as a family, we should ask ourselves why some are without a home.

Ask the Lord to show you vulnerable people to love as family.

Luigi Peñaranda is the former director of graduate programs in Spanish at Wesley Seminary at Indiana Wesleyan University.

© 2025 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.