Tuesday after the Fifth Sunday after Trinity Sunday
Posted on July 11, 2023 by under
Scripture: St. Luke 14:25-35 (NKJV)
14:25 Now great multitudes went with Him. And He turned and said to them, 26 “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. 27 And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. 28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it—29 lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31 Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace. 33 So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.
34 “Salt is good; but if the salt has lost its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? 35 It is neither fit for the land nor for the dunghill, but men throw it out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
Devotion
Jesus talks about “hating” your family and carrying a cross, counting the cost and forsaking everything. “Hating” here means not loving your family more than loving Jesus. Unless you do these things, you are not worthy to be His disciple. This is hard stuff , not for the faint of heart.
It is not easy to be abandoned or hated by our family and friends, but this is part of being the Church Militant. And there is no option. There is no other kind of faithful Church on earth than the Church Militant. Part of bearing our cross is to be a fool in the world’s eyes and to speak openly and, if necessary, militantly about the faith.
The family that you give up here in this world will be replaced a million times over in God’s family when you sit down at that wedding feast in heaven. You will have brothers and sisters closer to you than you ever experienced on earth. You will be loved and honored there as you have never been here. But, the road that leads to that heavenly kingdom is the road of suffering. It is that narrow way that leads to Golgotha, the mount of crucifixion. It is the way of loss and humiliation, but thankfully Jesus walked that road before us.
Prayer: O God, Who hast prepared for them that love Thee such good things as pass man’s understanding: Pour into our hearts such love toward Thee, that we, loving Thee above all things, may obtain Thy promises, which exceed all that we can desire; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
