Dave's Diary

Daily Readings: Luke 14 and Psalm 30

²⁶ ‘If anyone comes to Me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters – yes, even their own life – such a person cannot be My disciple. ²⁷ And whoever does not carry their cross and follow Me cannot be my disciple.

Jesus claims His disciples’ allegiance in no uncertain terms, but His terms certainly need explaining.

We understand very well that Jesus established a Kingdom of love and not hatred. So we simply cannot take His statement in v.26 at face value. To do so would be to misunderstand Him completely. The only way to understand what He said in v.26 is this: “You cannot be My disciple unless you give Me such a high place of priority in your life that by comparison even your proper love for your parents, spouse, children or siblings pales into insignificance. In fact, even your proper love for your own life will need to be secondary to your love for Me.“

Jesus was very honest with potential disciples up front. When following Jesus costs us, we are still called to follow. When obeying Jesus costs us, we are still called to obey. His point is that we simply will not be able to follow Him faithfully unless we have settled His first-place status in our lives long before it is ever challenged or tested. If we have not settled it, we will turn back at the first sign that there is a price to be paid, or we will compromise at the first challenge to our comfort.

Life application: Take a moment to look ahead at your day. Do you anticipate moments when your allegiance to Jesus and His Way will be tested. Can you already foresee moments in your calendar when you may be tested to compromise or take the easy way out? Pray that the Holy Spirit will strengthen your commitment to Jesus and your resolve to follow Him.