If you knew you had one day to live, how would you spend it?

You’ve probably heard any number of questions posed in your lifetime that are asked to stir us to think, and one of them is the question above.

Have you ever really thought about it?

I mean, if you really knew for sure you had just one more day of this life, how would you spend it?

The most common answer I’ve heard in response to that question was to spend it with loved ones (for most people, “loved ones” meant family).

Well, Jesus did know that He would soon lay down His human life by death on a cross, and He also chose to spend it with loved ones … but in this case, “loved ones” were His apostles.

Many of us 21st century Christians — and church leaders — behave very differently than Jesus did in His last hours. Today, many churches opt to not hold worship services on Christmas (even if Christmas isn’t actually on a Sunday!) so members can be with their families, uninterrupted by the worship of God; Jesus, on the other hand, thought being with His apostles — not biological family — was important enough to give some of His last remaining hours to.

There’s no question that the Bible instructs us to place a high value on family. For example, the Apostle Paul makes a powerful statement about taking care of family:

“But those who won’t care for their relatives, especially those in their own household, have denied the true faith. Such people are worse than unbelievers,” 1 Timothy 5:8.

But during His earthly ministry Jesus taught us we also need to place a high value on our spiritual or faith family:

“As Jesus was speaking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him. Someone told Jesus, ‘Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, and they want to speak to you.’ Jesus asked, ‘Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?’ Then he pointed to his disciples and said, ‘Look, these are my mother and brothers. Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother!'” Matthew 12:46-50.

Jesus would demonstrate His own concern for family when, while hanging on a cross He would arrange for the care of His mother, Mary (see John 19:25-27). But note He looked to John, one of His apostles who was there beside Mary, to take up the care of His mother.

When it comes to giving great value to biological family or church family, it isn’t an either/or, it’s both. For Jesus, a final dinner with His apostles was important for His few remaining hours. And there at the foot of His cross were both, biological mother standing next to an apostle who would now take on the responsibility to care for her.

In a time when we increasingly hear people who say, “I love Jesus but hate the church,” perhaps we should look more closely at Jesus’ example on this matter. At least on the night before He knew He would die, it wasn’t “blood is thicker than water,” but instead “water” was thicker than blood.

Scotty