November 8: Luke 14:25-27
Key Verse: Luke 14:26
‘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.
Devotion:
This is one verse which will always be taken out of context and talked about in so many ways; but by taking it out of the context of the things which were happening around Jesus on this particular day, we get a different story to what Jesus wanted people to hear!
Many people were now following Jesus around; the picture we often think of is Jesus being followed by 12 eager students willing to learn, but in reality Jesus was always thinking of the many people who were following Him. Many of these people would have followed Him because of the healing and miracles. Some would be following Him to learn more. A few may have been following Him to try and trap Him into saying something wrong…
But on this day Jesus reached out to the crowds to try and get them to think about why they were following Him. We get people who go to a particular church to see the things which are happening. We get people who go to a church to sing with a big band. We get people who go to a church because they can learn much as a student from the priest.
Jesus wanted to stop people and make them think about the real reasons they were meeting or following Him. He wanted people to search their hearts and think about what God meant to them. God wants us to be real, to know in our hearts why we follow Him and to be able to express why too! This is the start of a real relationship with Him!
Points to Ponder:
Do you know why you go to the church you go to?
How is your relationship with Christ?