But Jesus clearly stated in Luke 14:26 that “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.” So why would Jesus, who we understand as being a God of love, tell us to hate anyone, much less our family? I had this discussion with a great friend several years ago, and we ultimately came to the conclusion (like most western Christians) that it’s a statement of priority…God needs to be our first priority, but we must also care about our family. And that makes some sense in the context. But then verse 28 says we should make sure we “count the cost” of being a Christian. And in verse 33, he delivers another one from the top rope – “Any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.” I think this verse is a clearer explanation of the point Jesus was making. While I love Sara, Kate, Justin, and everybody else in that picture with everything in me, they do not belong to me…they are not mine, but God’s. I have to recognize that it is God’s plan for my family that is important, not my own…and I have to give them over to him completely with faith that his purposes are better than mine.
Several people over the years have told me that they believe our first duty as spouses and parents is to serve our family. There are some verses in the Bible that support this thought. But Jesus also said that he came with a sword to divide families.
So how do we choose to respond when God is calling us to one thing but family ‘responsibilities’ are pulling us in a different direction? I know what I do most of the time, but I also know that sometimes we may have to annoy, anger, or even hurt the ones we love in order to serve the ONE we love. And that was hard to write.
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