"If you want to be my follower you must love me more than your own father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters - yes, more than your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple."
Luke 14:26
Wow! Just to see it in red words right there in front of me.......wow! I've always known about this command and just recently I have begun to understand just a little of what Jesus is asking. It is not an easy statement to take in. I can't imagine what the people following Jesus, this day, thought when He said this to them. It was a huge crowd and I'm sure they were looking for miracles and healing, intelligent words and guidance but instead they were told that they must love Jesus more than anyone in their life in order to be His disciple. I don't know what you think, but I'm thinking they may have been a little let down and intimidated by those words. But the words are clear and simple. No sugar coating this, in order to be a true follower of Christ we must put Him very first in our life and love Him more than those closest to us.
Today, think about this statement. Put yourself there with Jesus and visualize Him saying this very statement to you. As you go to work, take care of your children, visit your parents, lie down with your spouse, think of your answer to Jesus' request. Who is most important in your life? Who do you love with all you've got? Who comes first when you make decisions about your daily activities? If your answer is Jesus then you are on the right track. Teach your children about this command. They need to know the importance of loving Jesus more than anyone else. They need to understand, at an early age, that Jesus should be first place in their hearts and they also need to know where you stand too. It's okay to tell your child or spouse that you love Jesus more and it's your job to encourage them to do the same in their life.
Loving someone takes a relationship. We spend time with the people we love and just because we can't see Jesus doesn't mean it should be any different. Friends I encourage you to spend time with Jesus today. I encourage you to choose Him as your Number One. Put forth an effort to establish and maintain a relationship with Jesus and your life will change! I promise to do the same and if you make a decision for change today, let us know by sending us an email and we promise to encourage you in your walk. We will pray for you and send you encouraging words and take the pressure off of doing this all alone.
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