1 00:00:32,025 --> 00:00:36,305 Speaker 1: Hey friends, Jennifer Slattery here thanking you for a wonderful year. 2 00:00:36,625 --> 00:00:39,745 Speaker 1: Your support means the world to us. I also wanted 3 00:00:39,784 --> 00:00:41,425 Speaker 1: to let you know that my team and I will 4 00:00:41,465 --> 00:00:44,104 Speaker 1: be taking a two week break in January to regroup 5 00:00:44,144 --> 00:00:47,705 Speaker 1: and refuel spiritually. During that time, will we air some 6 00:00:47,784 --> 00:00:51,385 Speaker 1: of our most popular episodes if you've already listened to them. 7 00:00:51,545 --> 00:00:55,505 Speaker 1: Perhaps consider this an opportunity to prayerfully reflect on the 8 00:00:55,585 --> 00:00:59,785 Speaker 1: truce anew. May you encounter the Lord in a personal 9 00:01:00,025 --> 00:01:09,345 Speaker 1: and fulfilling way each time you listen God Bless Life Audio. 10 00:01:15,265 --> 00:01:18,945 Speaker 2: Thank you for listening to your Daily Bible Verse, the 11 00:01:18,985 --> 00:01:22,625 Speaker 2: podcast that examines one verse each day to learn more 12 00:01:22,664 --> 00:01:25,945 Speaker 2: about God and his will for our lives. I'm your host, 13 00:01:26,545 --> 00:01:30,664 Speaker 2: Kyle Norman. After a brief message from one of our sponsors, 14 00:01:30,944 --> 00:01:45,705 Speaker 2: we will continue with today's verse. Today's verse can be 15 00:01:45,705 --> 00:01:50,425 Speaker 2: found in Luke, chapter fourteen, Verse twenty six. Jesus said, 16 00:01:51,145 --> 00:01:53,784 Speaker 2: whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, 17 00:01:54,264 --> 00:01:58,345 Speaker 2: wife and children, brothers and sisters. Yes, even life itself 18 00:01:58,825 --> 00:02:03,385 Speaker 2: cannot be my disciple. When I was young, the church 19 00:02:03,385 --> 00:02:07,184 Speaker 2: where I belonged held a church fun run. This was 20 00:02:07,225 --> 00:02:09,985 Speaker 2: going to be a run around at nearby lake, followed 21 00:02:09,985 --> 00:02:14,065 Speaker 2: by a parish picnic. Shirts were made up, trophies would 22 00:02:14,065 --> 00:02:18,825 Speaker 2: be awarded. It was a fun summer event. I decided 23 00:02:18,865 --> 00:02:21,665 Speaker 2: that I wanted to run with everyone else. I was 24 00:02:21,705 --> 00:02:24,745 Speaker 2: about ten years old, and so we all started off 25 00:02:24,785 --> 00:02:28,625 Speaker 2: at the same time, and my strategy was to pick 26 00:02:28,665 --> 00:02:32,145 Speaker 2: out somebody from the crowd. I didn't really know the 27 00:02:32,345 --> 00:02:34,984 Speaker 2: route that I was to run, so I figured if 28 00:02:35,025 --> 00:02:38,305 Speaker 2: I kept this person in my vision and followed where 29 00:02:38,345 --> 00:02:40,904 Speaker 2: they ran, well, then I would be led around the 30 00:02:40,984 --> 00:02:46,505 Speaker 2: lake in safety. Unfortunately, the person I picked out didn't 31 00:02:46,544 --> 00:02:49,425 Speaker 2: actually belong to the church, and so I ended up 32 00:02:49,505 --> 00:02:52,665 Speaker 2: running in the opposite direction and I got a little 33 00:02:52,704 --> 00:02:56,905 Speaker 2: lost along the way. Within a scripture, there are many 34 00:02:56,945 --> 00:03:02,545 Speaker 2: places where Jesus uses evocative or shocking language. Topping the 35 00:03:02,584 --> 00:03:06,704 Speaker 2: list is probably the statement that his disciples must hate 36 00:03:06,825 --> 00:03:10,745 Speaker 2: father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters. We 37 00:03:10,864 --> 00:03:15,225 Speaker 2: hear these words and immediately our hearts and our stomachs fall. 38 00:03:16,305 --> 00:03:19,785 Speaker 2: How could Jesus call us to hate? How could the 39 00:03:19,945 --> 00:03:24,144 Speaker 2: very incarnation of love and grace want us to hate 40 00:03:24,185 --> 00:03:27,385 Speaker 2: the people who are closest to us. This seems to 41 00:03:27,424 --> 00:03:31,184 Speaker 2: go against everything that we know about Jesus. I don't 42 00:03:31,185 --> 00:03:35,265 Speaker 2: want to minimize the response, because sadly there are people 43 00:03:35,305 --> 00:03:39,985 Speaker 2: who legitimately believe that Jesus means that we are to 44 00:03:40,025 --> 00:03:43,305 Speaker 2: be a people who hate, and so they wrap their 45 00:03:43,345 --> 00:03:48,344 Speaker 2: discipleship up in rhetoric of vengeance and wrath and judgment, 46 00:03:48,425 --> 00:03:52,225 Speaker 2: and they call people out in condemnation. But that's not 47 00:03:52,305 --> 00:03:55,825 Speaker 2: what Jesus means. Here. The word in the passage, which 48 00:03:55,865 --> 00:04:00,905 Speaker 2: is translated as hate, means more to reject something in 49 00:04:01,025 --> 00:04:07,105 Speaker 2: favor of a greater love. What Jesus essentially means is 50 00:04:07,545 --> 00:04:13,025 Speaker 2: to place him above all people. If we choose to 51 00:04:13,145 --> 00:04:16,385 Speaker 2: follow the ways and kingdom of the world around us, 52 00:04:17,065 --> 00:04:21,105 Speaker 2: then we, by definition, are following them and not Jesus. 53 00:04:21,225 --> 00:04:25,545 Speaker 2: We are their disciple and not his. Jesus is in 54 00:04:25,665 --> 00:04:29,265 Speaker 2: asking his followers to have negative emotions for their family 55 00:04:29,265 --> 00:04:32,305 Speaker 2: members and friends. He's not asking us to deep test 56 00:04:32,705 --> 00:04:36,545 Speaker 2: or abhore the people in our lives. What Jesus calls 57 00:04:36,625 --> 00:04:40,025 Speaker 2: us to is to put him first, to place him 58 00:04:40,145 --> 00:04:44,065 Speaker 2: as the focus of our lives, and to follow where 59 00:04:44,105 --> 00:04:49,184 Speaker 2: he leads. Now, let's be honest. If we are tempted 60 00:04:49,185 --> 00:04:52,865 Speaker 2: to put somebody ahead of Jesus, well, who is that person? 61 00:04:54,224 --> 00:04:57,185 Speaker 2: It's not like we place other gods before him. It's 62 00:04:57,224 --> 00:05:00,225 Speaker 2: not like we often think, well, Jesus is great, but 63 00:05:00,385 --> 00:05:05,424 Speaker 2: Linda is so much better. No, too often we place 64 00:05:05,585 --> 00:05:09,864 Speaker 2: ourselves in the top spot. We think that Jesus is 65 00:05:09,865 --> 00:05:14,705 Speaker 2: there to serve my needs. Instead of praying Thy kingdom come, 66 00:05:15,105 --> 00:05:18,784 Speaker 2: we pray may my will be done on earth as 67 00:05:18,784 --> 00:05:22,544 Speaker 2: it should be in heaven. This is why Jesus ends 68 00:05:22,585 --> 00:05:25,224 Speaker 2: the verse by saying that we have to be willing 69 00:05:25,305 --> 00:05:28,385 Speaker 2: to hate even our own lives, because if we are 70 00:05:28,425 --> 00:05:32,344 Speaker 2: too busy trying to lay the golden foundations of our 71 00:05:32,385 --> 00:05:37,305 Speaker 2: own earthly kingdom, then we will inevitably walk away from Jesus. 72 00:05:38,705 --> 00:05:43,344 Speaker 2: The reason why Jesus uses such strong language is because 73 00:05:43,385 --> 00:05:48,745 Speaker 2: following Jesus can often confront our lives. Jesus' words can 74 00:05:49,145 --> 00:05:53,864 Speaker 2: upset our complacency and our comforts. No, not because he 75 00:05:53,985 --> 00:05:58,145 Speaker 2: asks us to hate people, but because he calls us 76 00:05:58,224 --> 00:06:02,464 Speaker 2: to love. Jesus confronts us with the call to love 77 00:06:02,625 --> 00:06:06,545 Speaker 2: those we would rather avoid, to offer grace to people 78 00:06:06,585 --> 00:06:10,665 Speaker 2: that we would rather reject, to forgive those that we 79 00:06:10,745 --> 00:06:15,625 Speaker 2: would rather condemn. And so through the crowd following Jesus, 80 00:06:16,265 --> 00:06:20,825 Speaker 2: you follow Jesus more out of entertainment than devotion. Jesus 81 00:06:20,865 --> 00:06:23,705 Speaker 2: turns to them and says, how do you not be 82 00:06:23,825 --> 00:06:29,425 Speaker 2: my disciple? You place somebody in front of me. Now, 83 00:06:29,464 --> 00:06:33,544 Speaker 2: if you're like me, you might listen to this and think, oh, 84 00:06:34,145 --> 00:06:37,505 Speaker 2: there's been times when I've done that. There's been times 85 00:06:37,545 --> 00:06:41,425 Speaker 2: when I follow too much my own desires rather than 86 00:06:41,505 --> 00:06:46,745 Speaker 2: Christ's will. Well, here's the good news. This verse is 87 00:06:47,065 --> 00:06:52,385 Speaker 2: sandwitched between multiple parables. Before our verse is Jesus parable 88 00:06:52,505 --> 00:06:55,864 Speaker 2: of the great wedding banquet, and we hear of Jesus 89 00:06:56,025 --> 00:06:59,985 Speaker 2: lab as invitation for all to partake of this grand banquet. 90 00:07:01,265 --> 00:07:06,625 Speaker 2: And after this passage is parable after parable about Jesus 91 00:07:06,745 --> 00:07:10,265 Speaker 2: going out to seek the lost It's the lost sheep, 92 00:07:10,385 --> 00:07:14,265 Speaker 2: the lost coin, and the lost child. In the end, 93 00:07:14,545 --> 00:07:19,825 Speaker 2: our walk with Jesus, our discipleship, as demanding as it is, 94 00:07:19,825 --> 00:07:23,745 Speaker 2: is based on grace. We don't follow Jesus out of 95 00:07:23,785 --> 00:07:29,625 Speaker 2: this call to perfection or an execution of spiritual mastery. 96 00:07:30,585 --> 00:07:32,705 Speaker 2: When we follow Jesus to there's going to be good 97 00:07:32,745 --> 00:07:35,945 Speaker 2: days and there's going to be bad days. But Jesus 98 00:07:36,185 --> 00:07:39,705 Speaker 2: is unwavering in his loving acceptance of us, and he 99 00:07:39,785 --> 00:07:43,105 Speaker 2: comes to us in the midst of our stumblings, and 100 00:07:43,185 --> 00:07:46,545 Speaker 2: he picks us up and calls us to follow once again. 101 00:07:47,665 --> 00:07:50,545 Speaker 2: And it's because of that acceptance, it's because of his 102 00:07:50,665 --> 00:07:54,065 Speaker 2: forgiveness and grace, that we can take up this call 103 00:07:54,145 --> 00:07:57,864 Speaker 2: to be His disciple and all that it means. So, 104 00:07:57,985 --> 00:08:02,305 Speaker 2: as you go about this day, wherever your course might 105 00:08:02,425 --> 00:08:06,145 Speaker 2: lead you, may you keep the vision of Jesus always 106 00:08:06,185 --> 00:08:10,225 Speaker 2: before you, and dare to follow where he leads.