A:
Jesus included ourselves when He
said, “if anyone comes to Me and
does not hate his own father, mother,
wife, children, brothers, sisters
and even his own life, he cannot
be my disciple,” (Luke 14:26). The
original word translated from Greek
as hate is miseo meaning to detest,
or to love less than. Jesus is surely
not telling people to break the
fifth commandment by dishonoring
father and mother. Our love for
family in comparison to our love
for Jesus should only seem like
hate. A Christian’s love for Christ
is to greatly contrast his love
for the earthly family God provided.
There
are those who are faced with the
decision to either deny the Jesus
of the Bible, or be banished
from their families. Some non‑biblical
cults apply this sort of pressure
on family members who desire to
leave their religious entrapment
for the simplicity of having a relationship
with the living Jesus.
The
difficult choice comes when comfort
and satisfaction in the family are
lost in lieu of devotion to Jesus
Christ. Everyone would rather have
peace, but our trials often reveal
who we love most. Ask any martyr
in heaven. “And they overcame Lucifer
because of the blood of the Lamb
and because of the word of their
testimony, and they did not love
their life even when faced with
death,” (Rev 12:11).
People
have been known to refuse ministry
opportunities for fear of losing
friends or even customers.
It is when we experience the pleasures
of a born‑again life, and
trust God’s promises, that the difficult
verses become easier to apply in
our lives. (See Psa 16:11.)
The
irony is that as we keep Jesus Christ
the top priority in our lives, He
can help provide the strong marriages
and families people desire. The
Beach Boys sang, “we could be married,
and then we’d be happy; oh wouldn’t
it be nice?” Just like that? I don’t
think so.
The
divorce rate shows that once we
move in that close to each other,
it takes the inventor of marriage
to bring love to its fullest. “A
cord of three strands is not quickly
torn apart,” (Eccl 4:12). Loving
God more makes love happen more
among people.
There
is so much talk today of personal
goals and dreams in churches. Personally
I’m a bit cautious of this trend
because I believe life is more than
making money, winning every contest,
climbing the ladder, and finally
dying. There is something miraculously
victorious about taking up our crosses
and following Jesus daily. We shouldn’t
hate anybody, but we should love
our Savior most of all.
1
John 4:19
