Priorities...

As I began to read the Word today, God led me to Luke 14. As I read this I was deeply convicted. Let's look at particularly verses 16-24. This is the parable of the dinner. I would encourage you to turn to this section in your Bible as I am only going to give a short paraphrase. Jesus speaks of a man, who threw a big banquet. Many were invited to this banquet, and many had accepted. But, when asked to come, they started making excuses as to why they couldn't come. The banquet was ready, but they weren't. One man said, I bought a piece of new land and I need to go out to look at it, excuse me please. One man said, I have bought a new ox and I want to try him out, excuse me please. Another said, I just got married. I need to spend time with my new bride, excuse me please. Then the man who had been sent out to tell them the dinner was ready came back to the master of the household. Angrily the master told him to go out into the streets, and bring the less fortunate, the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame. The slave said, master, this has already been done and there is still room. So the master instructed him to go out into the hidden places, the hedges and highways and tell those people to come. Because those people that were originally invited didn't come, they shall not have a taste of my dinner, but these people will.
Wow, let's see what happened here. Jesus is speaking of when we are invited to attend to God's blessings, to become like him, to take part in his divine nature. Some of us (and this is where my conviction came in) have accepted this invitation, but when the time comes to attend, other priorities get in the way -- idols. Think about this. We tell God, excuse me please, I have other things that are more important. Yikes! Really? I just said that to God? Yes I did. And so have all of us. It doesn't matter how many times we've put God on the back burner. God's not keeping score of how many times we commit this sin, but that we sinned in the first place. But He wasn't done with me, He then took me further into the chapter. Let's move to verses 26-27. Once again this is Jesus speaking. Before we go into what the passage says, let's turn to a part of a commentary I was reading after I read the passage. This is taken from that commentary.
So Jesus calls for a follower who will hate his mother and father, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life. The point of the list is that no other relationship is first for a disciple. "Hate" is used figuratively and suggests a priority of relationship. Jesus is first. To follow Jesus means to follow Jesus, not anyone or anything else. A disciple is a learner, and the primary teacher in life is Jesus. This total loyalty is crucial, given the rejection and persecution that lie ahead. If His followers care more about family than about Jesus, when families are divided under pressure of persecution, they will choose against Jesus. This is what lies behind Jesus' remarks. Discipleship is not possible if Jesus is not the teacher.
Well, the commentary basically paraphrases the passage. As a new Christian, I used to have problems with the word "hate" as it is used here. Now that God has grown me into something more, I see just what this means. This commentary confirms this. In order for one to truly follow Jesus, he must "carry his cross", which means, we put Christ first, and we suffer what he suffered, we bare what he bared, we face the same rejections that he faced. No relationship, not family, not job, not anything must come before him. Our very lives must be thrown down. I ask you readers today. What is your excuse? What is keeping you from the blessings of God? We as the body of Christ need to make sure our priorities are in order. If we really are disciples of Christ, we must repent because we have not put him first, above everything.