The High Cost #1
| "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters--yes, even his own life--he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. (Luke14:26-27) |
It is a dramatic image designed to grab our attention.
Obviously Jesus does not mean that we literally hate our fathers, mothers, spouse, children and siblings. He simply means that our love for Him should be absolute. We should love Him more than anything else. In fact, the gap between our love for Him and our love for others should be as dramatic as the gap between love and hate.
He follows this up with another vivid image.
In Graeco-Roman times carrying a cross meant you had been sentenced to death.
In the movies, they often depict a condemned man going to the execution chamber and the prisoners around them chant: "Dead man walking."
To pick up your cross is to become a dead person walking.
These dramatic images remind us that following Jesus isn't always easy.
Throughout the centuries followers of Jesus have been disowned by their families, abandoned by their spouses, condemned by their parents, mocked by their children, isolated in the business world and executed for their faith.
Not all of us will have to leave our families.
Not all of us will lose our lives.
But some will...
