Luke 14:25-35
Luke 14:25-35
“Jesus is the only significance. Beside Jesus nothing has any significance. He alone matters.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer in The Cost of Discipleship.
Jesus is very clear as to what His expectation for our life is, “Any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple” (v. 33). This verse is convicting, but also one we can all get behind.
The verse that causes trouble for many of us is verse 26, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple”. This verse is perplexing because it seems contradicting to Jesus’ character. But I want to explain two things:
1. Jesus is not really calling us to hate the people in our life. Hate is metaphorical. All of these things are important, but they should be second in your priority list behind Jesus. Family should never become an idol that stands in our way of being a fully devoted follower of Jesus. That is difficult to hear, but it is the cost of discipleship.
2. When Jesus is our main priority, those earthly relationships will be in accordance to God’s design. If Jesus is first in our life, we will love our spouse in a sacrificial way. When Jesus is first, we will love the parent’s who have no desire for any relationship. When Jesus is first, we will train our kids to love God and follow Him.
Jesus calling us to “hate” our family to put Him first is not an act of pride, instead, it is Him knowing us and exactly what we need to live the most righteous life we can.
What are we not renouncing for Jesus? Our house? The car we drive? The relationship that is leading us to sin?
By: Brice Stockton
“Jesus is the only significance. Beside Jesus nothing has any significance. He alone matters.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer in The Cost of Discipleship.
Jesus is very clear as to what His expectation for our life is, “Any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple” (v. 33). This verse is convicting, but also one we can all get behind.
The verse that causes trouble for many of us is verse 26, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple”. This verse is perplexing because it seems contradicting to Jesus’ character. But I want to explain two things:
1. Jesus is not really calling us to hate the people in our life. Hate is metaphorical. All of these things are important, but they should be second in your priority list behind Jesus. Family should never become an idol that stands in our way of being a fully devoted follower of Jesus. That is difficult to hear, but it is the cost of discipleship.
2. When Jesus is our main priority, those earthly relationships will be in accordance to God’s design. If Jesus is first in our life, we will love our spouse in a sacrificial way. When Jesus is first, we will love the parent’s who have no desire for any relationship. When Jesus is first, we will train our kids to love God and follow Him.
Jesus calling us to “hate” our family to put Him first is not an act of pride, instead, it is Him knowing us and exactly what we need to live the most righteous life we can.
What are we not renouncing for Jesus? Our house? The car we drive? The relationship that is leading us to sin?
By: Brice Stockton
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