By“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. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” — Luke 14:26 - 27 NIV
One verse that gets people to think deeply before entering ministry or serving Jesus with a fully passionate heart is Luke 14:26-27. In these two verses, Jesus speaks about some people we need to abandon to become his disciples (not followers).
He spoke about hating close family members like father, mother, wife, children, and siblings. But note that all these categories of people Jesus used are figurative, not direct. Why? Because the scripture says in 1 Timothy 5:8 (NIV) that,
Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
1 Timothy 5:8 NIV
Suppose I, as a minister, hate my family, then how can I provide for them as a man?
What Jesus spoke about in Luke 14:26-27 is about everything that isn’t contingent on our walk of faith in Christ. And some of these things are so close to us that our relationship with them could be compared to our relationship with our families.
However, above all, I don’t see it anywhere in scripture that Jesus stressed abandoning certain things before calling anybody to follow him, especially his disciples. That means Jesus isn’t really concerned with what we must leave or lose for following him. He only wants our allegiance, and as time goes on, we’ll notice that there are some things we can’t carry on us as we follow him because they’ll be distractions to our lives.
An example of this is stopping alcoholism. A drunkard can accept Christ today and may not change attitudinally. However, when he becomes consistent in a church where sound doctrine always gets preached, the same Word of God is so powerful to clean that bad attitude, even without him noticing it right away.
How many bad things can you remember you’ve stopped doing when your dedication unto the Lord increased? Many, right? But you may not recall all of them.
Don’t concentrate on what you’ll lose by dedicating your life to God. Focus on following Jesus. He’ll transform your life beyond measure. He knows what you need. He knows what’s best for you. Listen to Him, and remain committed to His mission. He’ll always take care of you.
You’re a blessing.
Prayer
Father, in the name of Jesus, I choose to focus on following you and not what I have to leave or lose before committing to Your vision for my life. Thank you for always being faithful. Amen.
Devotional Code: KGD // 2022 – 188
Download Quote and Share
