Go, Figure.
March 10, 2023
Relinquish Your Hold
Let It Go!
Photo by Ankush Minda on Unsplash
"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….So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions." - Luke 14:26, 33
It is a provocative statement.
Did it work?
Did it get your attention?
Is it hyperbole?
Doesn't it contradict almost everything else Jesus said?
Many "yes" answers emerge, but there is also a "yes" to the unasked question. What is the unasked question?
What does it mean to turn one's back on everything to focus on one thing? What kind of hate is this that is absolutely compatible with unconditional love? What kind of dying is this that culminates in eternal living and what kind of emptying is it that fills us?
Everything is redefined in Jesus.
Every value is reordered.
Every love is reoriented.
What looked like love is revealed as dysfunctional, self-serving, enabling much-mush when compared to the true love that transforms us and causes us to live out the Great Commandment -- not only better, but from a new perspective.
This sort of hate and abandonment is the gateway to true love and fulfillment.
How can it be?
Go figure.
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In case you are still stuck.