Wednesday I had the privilege of sharing a devotion with the Board of Directors for an association to which I belong and I thought it appropriate to share my thoughts here as well. So, to fellow board members who might be reading today, please forgive me for the repeat.
As I read Luke 14, I find that Jesus offers a lesson on what he expects of us who call ourselves Christ followers – believers in the way. I have often struggled with this passage (you can read it here). Jesus’ command to forsake (even “hate” in some translations) our families has been hard for me to understand. I have always felt that my relationship with God should be my first priority and that my relationship with my family should be a close second. But Jesus uses some pretty strong language suggesting that we have to completely forsake our families in order to follow him.
But as I meditated on this passage this week, I began to realize that Jesus was attempting to make a strong point both to his listeners and to us, that following him will be costly and that we should stop and count the cost before committing to follow him. Now you may be thinking – well yeah, what is so hard to understand about that?
But I think what hit me between the eyes in this meditation is that Jesus was not just making a point, he was giving a warning. We tend to “sterilize” Jesus words sometimes, but I think we loose the impact when we do that. What Jesus was saying was that we need to really be sure we are ready to commit everything we have and are to him. I think what he was saying was this, “Now wait a minute before you just jump on board because everyone is doing it. I don’t need half-hearted, fair-weather followers. In order for God’s plan to work, I need followers who are all-in, sold out, no turning back kind of followers. If that is not you – then go follow someone else.”
While this may seem harsh, imagine with me for a moment, what would the church look like if everyone in it had this level of commitment? What would our world look like if our churches were filled with believers committed to this level?
I dream of living in that world!
Clay in the Hands 
I love reading Luke’s writings (the Gospel, Acts, Hebrews?!?). In studying through Acts I am reminded that the essence of Christianity is found in Jesus Himself, our only hope. May we truly be committed to Him. Thanks Brian for the reminder.
[…] January 21, 2010 by jbrianhill Just how passionate are you about following Jesus. Before you answer that question, remember that there is a cost to being a disciple. I have written before about counting the costs of true discipleship – you can read that here. […]