Jesus speaks encouraging then sobering words—“Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.” (Matt 10:32-33)

Jesus goes on to explain how His coming will impact the world—

“Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’(Matt 10:34-36)

He is then even more clear that He is to hold first place in our lives—

“He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.”(Matt 10:37)

The God of the universe explains, if we look for our life in anything but Him it is futile but those who look to Him will find real life—

“He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.”(Matt 10:39)

Most of us have read or heard this teaching. Some know very well what this looks and feels like.

Some have been scorned and ridiculed by others for their beliefs and some have been separated from those they love because of the ways of God.

I’m not sure anything is as hard as when called to not only believe our faith, but to live it out in such difficult ways as to face separation from friends or family over our desire to love and follow Christ.

To be honest, as I come to these words in Matthew, we are facing such a situation. It’s so very hard and I’d so appreciate your prayers; but like so many times before, God uses the timeliness of my daily Bible reading to encourage my heart and guide my steps. Will you ask the Lord to break the chains and set the captive free?

And I know our family is not the only one with these struggles as these choices are increasingly having to be made for many Christians….

Will your sister forgive you if you don’t attend your nieces gay marriage?

What about the family beach trip when your son wants to share a bedroom with his live in girlfriend?

We want to love others, but to treat sin as if it is good and normal is something we know our Savior never did. And we can’t either as Christ followers.

But the strength to choose Christ and His ways comes from truly knowing Him—in real, daily, walk-with-Him relationship.

It is there that we can say as the Psalmist —“But I will sing of your strength;
I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. For you have been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress”. (Psalm 59:16)

No matter what comes our way no matter what distress, human conflict, no matter what —when you truly know and love Jesus, not only do you love Him first but you can truly love others better.

And sometimes loving others better means making the hard choice to stand for the things of Christ even if that stand causes you to stand alone.

readMatthew

Kimjaggers.com