Obedience

 27Now while Jesus was saying these things, one of the women in the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, “Blessed (happy, favored by God) is the womb that gave birth to You and the breasts at which You nursed!” 28But He said, “On the contrary, blessed (happy, favored by God) are those who hear the word of God and continually observe it.” Luke 11:27-28 Zondervan. The Amplified Study Bible . Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

Motherhood was an honor every woman desired. To be childless was to be cursed and to have children was to be blessed. Mary certainly had a special honor in giving birth to Jesus and raising him. She was blessed among all women with the privilege of bearing the Son of God. Yet Jesus elevated obedience above the honor of being his mother. This does not put Mary in an inferior place but stresses the importance of following the word of God in obedience on a daily basis. A life of obedience is a life that is honored by the Lord above any status one may receive. This was the challenge Jesus gave to the people to place obedience above any other thing that brought honor to a person. Our obedience to the Lord on a daily basis is his desire for every believer. To claim one is a Christian but fail to obey the commands and teaching of the Lord is hypocritical and damaging to the understanding of what it means to be a Christian. Obedience will always bring a blessing