Luke 14:7-35 Jesus shares in this passage the cost of discipleship. He says clearly that discipleship requires forsaking all. He shares the parable about the man who prepared a great supper and invited many to come. Those invited had excuses for not attending the dinner. One man was too busy with his possessions, another was too busy with his business, and another was too busy with his family.
If the devil cannot make us sin morally, he will keep us so busy with things that we are of no value in the kingdom of God. We are the salt of the earth, and when we are too busy to do the Father's will, we lose our savor. Others see our lives, and we are no different from the people in the world. We can even be so busy with church work that we are not a good witness to our next door neighbor.
Jesus told His mother at the temple when He was twelve years old that He had to be about His Father's business. He, however, did not leave His family as a young boy of twelve. He returned to His family and grew in stature and favor with God and man. Jesus could not skip the discipline of being in a home where He received instruction from both parents and was required to obey. We know little of Jesus' childhood days, but He had to go through every stage a child goes through, even the teen years. This is why He can identify with us so well. He knows everything about maturing from infancy to adulthood. It was not until He was thirty that He began His earthly ministry.
When Jesus says in verse 26 that "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," He is sharing simply that He must come first in our lives.
To be a disciple of Christ does not mean that we no longer value our business, our possessions, our family, etc., but they should not be our top priority. Our first allegiance is to the Lord and to seek Him first in all areas of our lives. What Jesus wants us to forsake is our own will to busy ourselves instead of seeking Him first. Remember also that Jesus set us the example of submitting to His family through the years of His childhood and early adulthood until His ministry began. If we neglect our own family to do what we feel is the will of God, I believe we are not doing the will of God. He desires for our families to be growing together in His kingdom.
Today, I challenge you to be about the Father's business, which is to do His good pleasure (sharing His kingdom) in the work place, market place, family and neighborhood. Be willing to forsake your busy life to spend time with the One who should be number one in your life. Then spend quality time with your family sharing the together God's Word, His wonders and His works.
READ: Joshua 3:1-4:24; Luke 14:7-35; Psalm 80:1-19; Proverbs 12:27-28
