Do our words make an impact?
When I first read these verses in sequece, it caught my eye. In one verse, Jesus comforts us by saying that His Spirit is going to speak through us; that we can rely and trust on Him for our witness. In the next verse, He portrays a crumbling family - not as encouraging a picture as verse 20 was. But I think Jesus is communicating that the Spirit will speak through us in spite of situations like verse 21. The words spoken through us will not always make a visible impact - sometimes, our brother will betray us, and we will wonder if we should have spoken at all. But rest assured, it is the Spirit of the Father that speaks in us. His words will not be spoken without fruit.
