51 Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division.
“Jesus stated that complete dedication to Him would sometimes bring about rejection even from one’s immediate family. The person who places family ahead of his service for Christ is called ‘not worthy’ in Scripture.” Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible.
37 "Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; 38 and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
Matt 10:37-39 (NIV)
After 55 years of living, I have come to the realization that life is just simply not about me – go figure! This may come as a shock to some of you too, but it is not about you either! It is all about Jesus. Just as Christ had to empty Himself of His Godhead, humbling Himself by making Himself nothing to save our scrawny necks in obedience to the will of the Father, we too should humble ourselves emptying ourselves to be filled with the strength and power of His Spirit in order to do the will of the Father. We are told in Philippians:
4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-- even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Phil 2:4-11 (NIV)
What an example! What a Savior! It often takes a firm grasp of the above passage to endure some of the rejection which accompanies following hard after Jesus. Our predecessors in the “Hall of Faith” in Hebrews chapter eleven faced the same, if not much harder, issues:
32 And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. 35 Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. 36 Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. 37 They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated-- 38 the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground. Heb 11:32-38 (NIV)
“If a man commit himself to God...that man ought not to be afraid of anything.” George MacDonald
How very convicting to read that those we have come behind in following Christ lived their lives on earth so sacrificially that they might “gain a better resurrection”. We often think so little of our home in heaven and simply live like this life is it! Big mistake!
“The real value of a thing is the price it will bring in eternity.” John Wesley
As believers we have a breathtaking future in store for us! We must keep our eyes fixed on that certainty. When we reach out to others, ministering in the name of Jesus, humbling ourselves to further His kingdom, we discover life that is truly life. It is in pouring our lives out like a drink offering, as Paul says in Philippians, on the sacrifice and service that comes from another’s faith that brings the follower of Christ true joy. It is in giving that we receive; dying that we live; humbling ourselves that we are exalted. Jesus came and turned the world’s way of thinking topsy-turvy! It takes faith to flesh out this call as it goes against what comes much too naturally for us which, of course, is putting ourselves first. Interestingly, when we humble ourselves we are sitting prime for God to exalt. We are told in Scripture:
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:6-7 (NIV)