Welcome to this Come to Jesus Daily Devotional as we continue in our Luke, Exploring Who Jesus is series. Today, from Luke 14:25-27, we reflect on what is meant by the requirement that Jesus’ disciples must ‘hate’ people and carry a cross.
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‘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)
Jesus redefines success
I think that most of us equate crowds with success. If someone gets more followers on their social media, they are considered successful and, in turn, gain more followers. Another common view of success is an easy life. Most of us aspire to arrive at a place when our days are stress free and easy. However, Jesus doesn’t have this attitude to success. Neither popularity nor ease define Kingdom success. He is happy to be unpopular as He challenges the crowd by raising the bar on what it means to follow Him. Many of us, in our desire to be liked and to help people, are tempted to lower the standards of what it means to become a Christian. He also challenges the crowds to repent of seeking the easy life to be prepared to suffer and ‘carry their cross’! - Not exactly the approach to marketing that many would take! Jesus, in our text this week, is very clear that becoming a Christian is very costly so don’t do it unless you know what’s involved!
Success is a heart for God above all else
The condition of our hearts rather than the size of the crowd is what God values; and being prepared to suffer for Jesus constitutes success. In today’s reading, Jesus speaks of ‘hating’ our family member and our own life. He says that only such people can be His disciples! This sounds rather extreme. What does this mean? Is He calling us to be hermits who hate everyone? No! Firstly, we know that Jesus (6:35), and the entire New Testament, teach us about the importance of sacrificial love - even to our enemies! Secondly, Jesus puts it in this strong fashion, firstly, to get our attention and to get us to question and reflect. Thirdly, this is about loving Him so much more than anyone else that it is like the contrast between love and hate. For example, we could say that Jesus loved the Father so much that He hated the world; We know that Jesus loved the world and gave himself for the world, but, in comparison to His love for the Father, He hated the world! And, as I hope you can see, it’s this surpassing love for God that leads us, in fact, to serve our families and the world as we should.
Are you and I successful?
Are we still, and I imagine we are!, seeking success in popularity and an easy life? He’s challenging us today, do we love Him above all else? Are we prepared to obey Him and do His will above all others? Are we putting even our families above Him? In the context of Israel in which Jesus was teaching, are we prepared to be rejected by our culture and be open about our allegiance to Jesus? In essence, are we prepared to ‘carry [our] cross’? Like Jesus, are we prepared to be hated and suffer loss for the sake of Jesus? And, in turn, are we allow our surpassing love for Jesus to cause us to serve the world - even if it means a cross?
‘A disciple is a disciple only if he shares Christ’s life, including his pain, suffering, rejection and crucifixion.’ (Watson, David. Discipleship)
Let’s pray together
“Lord Jesus, change my heart so as to have a right attitude to love and success. May I stop counting popularity and ease as success. Move my heart so as to count pleasing you, no matter the cost, as success. Amen.”
Community Group Notes
1. Notices
It might be good to begin with notices. Please share from this week’s Church News.
2. Icebreaker
How has God been speaking to you from His Word this week, or maybe from our week of prayer, and how has this helped you?
3. Worship together
Let’s begin our time together by lifting our eyes and hearts to worship our great God. Perhaps you have readings and songs that you would like to use together. Let’s be open to the gifts that the Spirit wants to give in order to encourage one another.
4. Study and pray together
Sunday’s message from Luke 14:25-35, was about the cost of discipleship.
In the previous section of this chapter, we saw how we are all, even least, are invited into the Kingdom and the eternal banquet; this invitation is free, and one enters by receiving Jesus - repenting and believing the gospel. Now, in this section, Jesus challenges all of us who want to enter the Kingdom that we must commit ourselves to radical discipleship - it’s free to enter the Kingdom but it will cost us everything as we give our lives entirely to the King.
Please read Luke 14:25-35 and discuss:
Did God speak to you about anything from Sunday’s message?
Using three analogies - hating family, building a tower and going to war, Jesus teaches about the cost of following Him. What are the various ways that this can be applied in our lives (Use personal examples if you can)?
What does 14:35b, teach about the nature of true (born again) disciples?
SIV - In 14:34-35a, Jesus warns about remaining ‘salty’. What does this mean in regard to SIV? And how can one work at remaining salty?
SIV - How will the application of today’s text lead to having great impact in your community?
SIV - Do we have any stories of how we have ‘Served, Invested, and inVited’ recently?
SIV - Spend some time together talking and praying about who and how you are seeking to bring your community to Jesus.
Let’s pray together: Pray for one another out of our study, and for anything else for which people would like prayer.
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