Luke 21:16

Difficult words indeed from our Savior’s lips regarding both the situation His disciples would endure prior to the fall of Jerusalem and also the situation that would confront believers during the period of the Great Tribulation and quite frankly, everything in between these times. Division, betrayal, hate and murder - all by those closest to us – Jesus addresses this exact point earlier in Luke where He states that He did not come to bring peace but division:

49 "I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! 50 But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is completed! 51 Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. 52 From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. 53 They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law." Luke 12:49-53 (NIV)

Sadly, we should not be surprised at division in our immediate families. Jesus is telling us in these verses that complete dedication to Him would sometimes (thankfully, not all times) bring about hurtful rejection from our own flesh and blood. Scripture tells us that those who place family in front of Jesus are unworthy of Him:

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)

“If religion is worth anything, it is worth everything. They who do not like Christ on these terms, may leave him at their peril. Whatever we part with for this pearl of price, we may comfort ourselves with this belief, that it is well worth what we give for it. The terms are, that we prefer Christ.” Matthew Henry

Perhaps part of the cost of discipleship may be that the love of family must not be placed above the love of Jesus. Actually, nothing should be placed above the love of Jesus in our lives. Family, friends, possessions, power, fame, finances, self – should all fall under His authority in our lives. He is Ruler, we are not. While He bestows everything to us for our enjoyment and pleasure – including family – nothing is to come before Him – nothing.

“Taking a stand for Christ is increasingly unpopular in our pagan and pluralistic society. If you believe that God created the world, that He is a God of both love and holiness, that Jesus died and rose again for our sins and is the only way to heaven, and that we have a responsibility to take that message to a needy world – those beliefs will vilify you in many segments of our society. Our world is determined to intimidate, marginalize, and silence Christians. But our goal isn’t popularity; it’s to know Him and make Him known. We shouldn’t be needlessly offensive, but we shouldn’t be afraid of the ‘offense of the cross’. These are exciting days in which to bear a witness for our Savior!” Robert J. Morgan

We would do well to emulate Paul’s indefatigable herald of God’s remedy for mankind’s spiritual needs – whether it alienate us from those we are closest to or not:

16 I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. Romans 1:16 (NIV)

“To be rebuffed by a loved one causes pain not to be compared with the cruelties inflicted by an enemy. So your indifference and unresponsiveness to My call brings anguish to My soul, indeed, deeper grief than the crimes of the reprobate sinner. I have laid My rod upon the sinner, but I have laid My hand upon you. And I have put My arm around you to draw you closer, but you have been impatient and irritable as though I sought to interfere with your liberty. I am able to give you greater liberty than you will ever find by seeking to be independent of Me. I seek not to interfere with your happiness, but I do require that you relinquish your will; for I cannot bless you as I desire until your will is yielded up and you accept Mine in exchange. As you love Me, you accept My will as your own, and the caliber and extent of your love for Me may be accurately measured to the degree that you accept My will with a peaceful heart. You can best sing ‘My Jesus, I Love You’ when you can truly sing ‘Where He Leads Me, I Will Follow.’ For whoever does not take up his cross daily to follow Me cannot be My disciple.” Frances J. Roberts

“So let me encourage you to make the most of every opportunity to share this Good News. With so much emphasis on hope generated by our current president, we have an obvious inroad to the cultural psyche. Our Christian testimony, as Peter reminded his readers, is that, ‘we have been born again to a living hope through the resurrection of the dead’. Who else has the answer to the frailty of life, the reality of death and the certainty of judgment than Jesus, who by His death destroyed him who holds the power of death and frees those whose lives are enslaved by the fear of death?” Alistair Begg