Thursday, 23 March 2017

East Ridge Pres

Luke 14: 25 Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Jesus is followed by great crowds of people but he is not impressed by there coming out to hear him. He is not delighted by their numbers and his own popularity. Unlike preachers and politicians and business people he does not try to please them. He does not do what he can to draw more and more. Rise in the polls. The evangelical church today is often more about customers and keeping the customer satisfied and increasing our sales. Or our attendance. People change brands if they don’t find the brand pleasing. Like we change shoes or laptops. We are customers. Jesus wants disciples. Disciples follow and say “yes sir” to every order no matter how rough it gets. They don’t complain about the food or the temperature or the hardship. Or the music or youth ministries. Jesus preaches a message that repels. Jesus has what some have called a hostile brand and practices anti-marketing. His miracles attract, but his message drives away. One way he does this is by saying “if you follow me your relationships with your family will be changed and in many cases broken.” He is not asking them to hate anyone, for he commands us to honor our parents, love our spouses and children, and even love the strangers and enemies. He is asking them to obey him over the ideas and wishes and preferences and feelings of their families. He is telling them: Obey me and your families will be angry and frustrated and sad and upset. Your spouse, children, parents, siblings, etc. Ignore what they want you to think. What they want you to do. Follow me. Take your beliefs, your lifestyle, your morality, your choices, your worship, your life goals from ME. Rebel against your family wherever they contradict me. Incur their wrath wherever they contradict me. hurt their feelings if they contradict me. But he is not asking you to be a jerk. But to live with compassion and love and respect and honor and and gentleness and kindness. But also with allegiance to Christ and his way alone. And wherever there is no contradiction with Jesus, obey your family and submit to them.