“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
Katie and I have been blessed with 2 houses. One we list on VRBO as a vacation rental. We weren’t GIVEN this blessing but WORKED for it! As God presented us with opportunities for us to serve Him, trust Him and give everything to Him, He blessed us as promised. But in the last four years of seasonally renting, ‘The Blessing,’ THIS had NEVER happened!
It was a 1 day turnaround, meaning that the current vacationer was to be out by 10am since, the NEW vacationer was scheduled to arrive at 2pm! In between, the house needed to be cleaned. It wasn’t a big deal because I have an EXCELLENT 1 woman cleaning crew! Having some things to do there myself, I arrived at 10:30 am, only to find that the current vacationer hadn’t left yet! And he hadn’t planned to!
I made a joke when, after I knocked, the renter came to the door. I smiled and said, “Good morning , eviction man here!” I could tell by the look on his face he had NO clue what I meant! He hadn’t even STARTED to pack! Bottom line…he had his dates mixed up and really didn’t know it was time to leave! I let him know that there really was no choice in the matter! A contract was a contract!
The Bible verse today is like my knock on the door… BRASH! But there it is! When Jesus said it He was speaking of HIMSELF! And for you PC people out there that hate the word HATE… you can see for yourself that Jesus Christ used it! And yes…WHAT He said made HUGE waves! Jesus said. ‘If you want to follow me… you must HATE everyone else! EVERYONE!’
I read a statement in a book that really brought light to this subject of how impossible it is to have 2 different families (or masters) living in 1 house! The author said, “Discipleship is an obvious prerequisite for overcoming sin and death!” That statement, along with these verses, makes it clear that CHOOSING JESUS costs EVERYTHING! And will continue to do so!
We’ve ALL heard very sad stories of people who have destroyed their entire family because they chose to ‘follow their heart!’ When reading Jesus’ words, I cannot help but see that He is asking me to do EXACTLY THAT! Except for 1 thing… He wants me to FOLLOW HIM! NOT my own heart! When I do, His wish becomes my command. Then He wishes me to love my family, friends and associates LIKE HE DOES! FAITHFULLY!
As I work to pay attention, I hear knocks on the door of my heart! And one more time, it’s the owner! And one more time He sticks His nose into my business and asks…no DEMANDS… that I throw some stuff (or myself) OUT! So please excuse me for the occasional look on my face, because I often get confused. After all… I never thought He’d ask for THAT!
Does anything else live in your heart before Jesus?
