John 14:25-33
I remember a night shortly after my wife and I moved to Ortonville that was a transition point for me. One of our favorite things is to sit in our backyard late at night around a bonfire. People always come up with interesting discussions around a bonfire and ours often divulged into talks about God. At this point we did not really belong to a church, and I remember making a statement to the effect, “I think it is far more important that a person digs deeply into God’s Word than to claim membership at a church.” At which point I realized I was being a hypocrite because I was not digging. I had read the bible quite a bit in the past but had been admittedly slacking. I certainly couldn’t say I had read the whole thing and as an avid reader my pride was not okay with that. It’s funny how God uses our flaws to His glory. So, I set out to correct that and see what I was missing.
In Luke 14, Jesus has a moment when he turns to the crowd who was following him and says some things that might not give you the warm and fuzzies. He discusses how “discipleship” does not simply mean following him. Discipleship often costs you something. No one wants to hear that though. The rate of willingness unfortunately drops when people are told that action is required and with this passage that action looks drastic. There are a couple of illustrations in our passage. One is of a builder who sets out to build some monumental structure and the other is a war-time king getting ready for battle. Both illustrations were used to emphasize the importance of self-evaluation. As a disciple I must take inventory of everything in stock so I can find and purge all the spoiled goods that do not aid me in truly following Jesus. Did I skimp on the materials needed to lay a solid spiritual foundation upon which I intend to build my family? The world is waging a serious spiritual battle against all of us, especially our kids. Do worldly influences outnumber the Godly disciplines in my life, or have I been suited with the full armor of God so that I can defend my family from all the things seeking to tear it apart?
This self-appraisal is not easy, and it is not comfortable. It should cost you something. It should damage your pride. It might even invoke some fear or uncertainty about what your family thinks or how it operates. Jesus calls us to love him above ALL else. The cool thing about that is that when I do give my whole heart to Jesus, he allows me to love my family better. Loving Him the most does not mean loving them less. Loving Him most reorders my heart’s priorities and allows me to serve them purely out of love, instead of serving them in order to get something out of it.
That night around the fire, God allowed me to see that it was me that needed to change and not my family. I didn’t need my wife to dig into that bible with me, and I didn’t need my kids to act better, for me to be the leader they needed me to be. I needed to love Christ above all things. I needed to immerse myself in his Word and seek his wisdom and guidance in all that I do. I needed to be a Disciple for Jesus.
In Luke 14, Jesus has a moment when he turns to the crowd who was following him and says some things that might not give you the warm and fuzzies. He discusses how “discipleship” does not simply mean following him. Discipleship often costs you something. No one wants to hear that though. The rate of willingness unfortunately drops when people are told that action is required and with this passage that action looks drastic. There are a couple of illustrations in our passage. One is of a builder who sets out to build some monumental structure and the other is a war-time king getting ready for battle. Both illustrations were used to emphasize the importance of self-evaluation. As a disciple I must take inventory of everything in stock so I can find and purge all the spoiled goods that do not aid me in truly following Jesus. Did I skimp on the materials needed to lay a solid spiritual foundation upon which I intend to build my family? The world is waging a serious spiritual battle against all of us, especially our kids. Do worldly influences outnumber the Godly disciplines in my life, or have I been suited with the full armor of God so that I can defend my family from all the things seeking to tear it apart?
This self-appraisal is not easy, and it is not comfortable. It should cost you something. It should damage your pride. It might even invoke some fear or uncertainty about what your family thinks or how it operates. Jesus calls us to love him above ALL else. The cool thing about that is that when I do give my whole heart to Jesus, he allows me to love my family better. Loving Him the most does not mean loving them less. Loving Him most reorders my heart’s priorities and allows me to serve them purely out of love, instead of serving them in order to get something out of it.
That night around the fire, God allowed me to see that it was me that needed to change and not my family. I didn’t need my wife to dig into that bible with me, and I didn’t need my kids to act better, for me to be the leader they needed me to be. I needed to love Christ above all things. I needed to immerse myself in his Word and seek his wisdom and guidance in all that I do. I needed to be a Disciple for Jesus.
Posted in Devotional