No. 76, Love Ya More

76 good-bye.jpg

Jesus said, Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters, or mother or father or children or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the good news, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age- houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields, with persecutions – and in the age to come eternal life. Mark 10:29

Whoever comes to Me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes and even life itself cannot be my disciple. Luke 14:26

I would like to sew a big velvet curtain and hang it (closed) in front of this Mark. I know Jesus Christ said that whoever loves family more than Him is not worthy of Him; that is a Mark I aim for, but to challenge us to hate and abandon our families has me flummoxed.

Mark 10:29: in context, the disciples were saying that they have left everything for Him, and He was assuring them that it would be worth it. This passage reminds me of Job who lost all of his children, his health and his wealth, but clung to his trust in God. Job ultimately gained twice as much wealth and more children. God is demanding, but He is generous.

Let’s draw that curtain open and peek at this Mark. Face it. No one, not even our children or spouses should receive our devotion and service more than Jesus Christ who came to reunite man with God.
Love requires sacrifice. Without sacrifice, it is only an imitation and will wear out soon. You need to have “skin in the game.”

Someday we will leave our families and our bodies, so we may as well start practicing letting go. Putting God first makes it easier to say goodbye.

Bullseye.