\u201cWhen a strong man, fully armed, guards his castle, his property is safe. But when one stronger than he attacks him and overpowers him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted and divides his plunder. Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. <\/p>\n
\t\u201cWhen the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it wanders through waterless regions looking for a resting place, but not finding any, it says, \u2018I will return to my house from which I came.\u2019 When it comes, it finds it swept and put in order. Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and live there; and the last state of that person is worse than the first.\u201d <\/p>\n
\tWhile he was saying this, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, \u201cBlessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts that nursed you!\u201d But he said, \u201cBlessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it!\u201d (Luke 11:21-28)<\/p>\n
\tIt\u2019s easy to miss the forest for the trees. While Jesus was talking about the behavior of demons, a woman in the crowd made a statement that seems very odd and out of place, almost as if she wasn\u2019t even listening to him. Her words don\u2019t seem to fit the context of Jesus\u2019 discussion. <\/p>\n
\tShe offered a blessing on Jesus\u2019 mother. What did she mean by that? Apparently, she thought that Jesus was wonderful because he was a teacher and because he had power over demons. So she wished that she could have a son just like him so she could be just as happy as Jesus\u2019 mother must be.<\/p>\n
\tJesus responded by telling her that the real happiness was not in having power over demons. It was not in having a son like Jesus. Instead, Jesus said that real happiness came from having a relationship with God, listening to what he said, and then doing what he asked. What does God want of us? He wants us to love him and the people around us. He wants us to help make the lives of those we know better. Too easily do we become distracted by what we want in life, that we forget to focus on what God wants. The woman in the crowd thought happiness came from having a perfect son\u2014rather than from having a perfect relationship with God thanks to His Son. <\/p>\n
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