How Seriously Are We To Take Jesus?

Now lets get back to the Jesus this Gramma has come to know. 

First, a disclaimer: It may seem that I am claiming to know what God wants and thinks.  When in actuality, I am just  trying to make sense of this extremely uncomfortable word from Jesus.  

Ok! What we have here is the admonishment to take seriously Jesus’ call to be one of his disciples/students.  

This is one of those difficult, maybe impossible, texts that cause us to ask: Does Jesus literally mean that we are “to hate?”  

If nothing else, it certainly does wake up our sleepy minds.  

Is the loving and Forgiving Jesus literally suggesting that we “hate” our family and friends?  

Or, Is Jesus challenging us to look beyond our feelings?  Beyond our own family, and those dear to us?  Beyond, to a much larger commitment? 

Something more than what we can even attempt to name as precious.  More precious than our physical being, our  relationships and possessions!

That is, beyond all we have been given, all we have been blessed with. Beyond all of that!  To the giver!  To the giver who is offering us more possibilities.  Even more precious than how this life, on earth, defines us. 

This call to be a student of Jesus is something that, “adds, to our ordinary life, the potential for a conflict of loyalties.  Causing us to go against the normal flow of living.  Reordering affections that would normally claim first place.” (Ronald P. Byars, Feasting On The Word, p49)  

I’m thinking, Jesus is reminding us that all we have been given is from God.  And those blessings are to be kept precious of course!  However, the one who gave them, the Creator God, want us to now take the love and those relationships, that we have been given, are to be used in a larger, much broader, way!  By spreading those blessings throughout the world beyond the particular environment we live in.  

I believe that Jesus wants us to understand that God’s family is so much larger than our own tiny life.  

He wants us to understand that we are just one little part of something far greater.

And, until we realize that, we are limited in our ability to love “as” God wants us to love.

In this particular teaching moment Jesus is setting the bar of discipleship on a higher level.  We are to go a step beyond our own comfort zone.

I find the analogy Jesus use for this higher level of loyalty interesting: “For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost….” 

And you ask: is there a “cost” in following Jesus?  Yes!  And that cost is the higher level of loyalty. Going one, or possibly two, steps beyond comfortable.

I know! I know all about being saved by faith through grace alone!  I am clear on that!  But does that honestly mean that we have no responsibility?   Nothing to do?

Does that mean that we just float along on the sea of sweet grace with no effort of our own?  Just here to float along on into eternity?

That is certainly not what Jesus ever said!

What he actually did say is that we would do the works he did, and greater works than his. (Jn.14:12)

So, there is most certainly a “cost!” 

And that cost has nothing what-so-ever to do with money!  There is more to following Jesus than just opening our wallet, or moving our feet. 

To get an idea of this cost, think about Jesus’ temptations in the wilderness (Lk. 4).  Like Jesus, we are tempted to be God sometimes.  We are tempted to choose pride over love as well.  We are tempted to go along with the conversation; rather than call a stop to local gossip.  Just to name a few of the world’s call to compromise!  

As I said in, another blog, we live in a tiny little bubble that includes only a small piece of a much larger would outside of our little corner of existence.  A huge population out there that God has made. Out of sight of our tiny ant’s-eye-view of what it mean to follow Jesus.

And, even if we don’t take Jesus’ word to hate literally.  And I don’t by the way!  His word should give us pause to, at the very least, give some thought as to where we fit into Jesus’ call to follow him.

I will leave you with one of my question to chew on. 

How seriously should one take Jesus’ call to live and love as he modeled?  Do we really need to be an A student?  Or is average okay?

Okay, thats two question(;

25 Now large crowds were traveling with him; and he turned and said to them, 26 "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. 27 Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. 28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it? 29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule him, 30 saying, "This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.' 31 Or what king, going out to wage war against another king, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he cannot, then, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for the terms of peace. 33 So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions. (Luke 14)