Word studies are my favorite thing about reading the bible.
Did you know that there are different contexts for the word hate?
We often view it as intense dislike, but in Luke 14:26 it talks about a different kind of hate. Luke 14:26 "If any man comes to me and hates not his father, mother, wife, children, brethren, sisters, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple."
Why do you think Jesus would tell us to hate our mother and father, even our own life?
In this context, hate is actually an instruction to love one less than the other.
We are to love everyone else, including our own life, less than Jesus.
To put it another way, to be a true disciple of Jesus we must love him more than we love anyone else!
Why would Jesus ask such a thing?
Have you ever been in love? When you love someone, you would do anything for them. You take their advice above others, you bend to their will above your own. Loving someone puts them at the highest priority in your heart.
This is where Jesus wants to be!
Not because he is vain or selfish. Jesus knows that loving him more than anything or anyone else positions us for TRUE Lordship and leadership under his guidance and counsel. Without this stipulation, we would be tempted to be led down the wrong path by someone else or choose anyone else's guidance (including our own) above his.
Put it into Action: Highlight Luke 14:26 in your bible and think on what it truly means to love Jesus more than your kids, more than your husband or boyfriend, more than the parents who raised you, yes, even more than your own life. Examine your relationships and see where you choose others over Jesus. Are you so angry that you think about someone more than you think of him or his commandments? Do you rush out of the door to make an appointment before reading your bible or worship? Do you work more to please your significant other or boss than you work at pleasing him? There are many ways we forgo the Lordship of Jesus for the love of something or someone else. Meditating on scripture and identifying where we struggle is the first step to putting our life back in order!