Thursday, April 11

THURSDAY, APRIL 11, 2019

"Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said:  '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 14:25-27)

Today's passage from Luke contains some challenging teaching.  First, Jesus indicates that we should take such an attitude of humility as to invite and show love to those who may never be able to repay.  He urges us to eschew self-serving "love" that counts on reciprocity and on social engagements that boost our own standing.  Only from a Gospel motivation, grounded in the love of Christ, may we actually carry out such an attitude.

In this second teaching, Jesus shares another challenging word with the "large crowds... traveling" with him:  "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."  Wow!

We recognize several important elements from this teaching:

(1) The call to discipleship involves a personal and holistic commitment.  Jesus's call requires our individual surrender to Christ; others can't serve as our surrogates.

(2) Our love for Christ will make other loves seem pale in comparison.  Given the tremendous sacrifice of Christ and His loving servanthood, our love for Him should reign supreme in our lives.  Other affections will pale in comparison.  Yet, our love for Christ and relationship with Him — and the vertical wholeness there offered — will inform and guide our other relationships towards wholeness.

(3) Carrying our cross means surrendering our rights and small notions to embrace whatever God would have for us.  The Bible teaches us that, like seeds, we must first die before we may spring to life.  With the seed of the Gospel planted in us, we become fertile soil once we have let go of our demands to control our lives.  We allow God to become the cultivator and vinedresser in our lives so that we may become fruitful for Him. (John 15:1-8)

May we follow Christ wholeheartedly according to this call to real discipleship!

Lord God, thank You for giving us a clarion call to eternal purpose through authentic discipleship.  Help us to identify areas where we can surrender more of ourselves and to embrace Your mission for our lives more openly.  Strengthen us to continue in our growing into being more like Jesus.  In His powerful Name, amen.