“If you want to be my disciple, you must, by comparison, hate everyone else—your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:26 NLT)

Many people choose not to follow Jesus because they’re afraid of what others will think. They choose not to commit their lives to Christ because they’re worried about the opinion of someone else. Maybe it’s a boyfriend or girlfriend, or maybe it’s a husband or a wife. Maybe it’s a close buddy or a group of friends they hang around with. Maybe it’s their parents.

They recognize that if they were to fully give their lives to Christ, they would lose a bunch of so-called friends. Or it would mean the end of a relationship. Or it would cause friction in their home. So, they allow the potential consequences to hold them back.

But Jesus said, “If you want to be my disciple, you must, by comparison, hate everyone else—your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26 NLT).

His declaration may seem shocking, especially because it includes the word hate. But as we balance this statement with other passages of Scripture, we discover that Jesus clearly wasn’t advocating for hatred. Certainly, the Bible doesn’t teach people to hate others. Why would Jesus tell us to honor our father and mother and then also demand that we hate them? Or why would Paul tell husbands to “love [their] wives, just as Christ loved the church” (Ephesians 5:25 NLT)?

In context, Jesus wasn’t saying that His followers should hate people. Essentially, He was saying that we should love God so much more than anyone or anything else that our love for those people or things would seem like hatred in comparison.

Jesus was talking about priorities. If you ask people to list the top priorities in their life, you’ll probably get a lot of heartwarming, inspiring answers. Near the top of people’s lists will be things like a relationship with Christ, family, nonprofit volunteer work, personal well-being, and career.

But real priorities aren’t spoken or listed; they’re lived. The things in your life that get the majority of your time, focus, and interest—whether they are video games, social media, streaming services, significant others, habits/addictions, or other things—are your actual top priorities, whether you care to admit it or not.

In Luke 14:26, Jesus is saying, “If you claim to follow Me, I should be in that top spot. What’s more, I should be so far ahead of number two on your priority list that there’s no comparison.”

That makes perfect sense when you think about it. If you want to live your Christian life to the fullest, then love Jesus more than anything else. Do you love Him that way?

Reflection question: How can you make sure that Jesus is your top priority? Discuss Today's Devo in Harvest Discipleship!

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“But the Jews who were not persuaded, becoming envious, took some of the evil men from the marketplace, and gathering a mob, set all the city in an uproar and attacked the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people. But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some brethren to the rulers of the city, crying out, ‘These who have turned the world upside down have come here too.’” (Acts 17:5–6 NKJV)

Why is it that first-century believers so radically impacted their world? After all, they didn’t have the cool technology we have today. They didn’t have well-known Christian authors and performers. They didn’t have megachurches. They didn’t have printing presses. Yet a relatively small group of men and women turned their first-century world on its ear, or “upside down,” as the Jewish leaders put it in Acts 17.

They intended those words as a criticism of Christians—as a warning to others about them. But their description revealed the seismic impact Jesus’ followers had on the world around them. It’s also quite possible that the Jewish leaders inadvertently aided Christians in their evangelism efforts. Who wouldn’t be intrigued by the possibility of turning the world upside down?

Yet for many believers today, those sights have been lowered considerably. People are content to live quiet, unobtrusive Christian lives. They don’t want to kick up too much dust in their walk with Christ.

Especially in the United States, many believers are surviving on a watered-down, anemic version of Christianity. They don’t seem to be living at the same standard of Christian faith as the first-century Christians lived. You might say they have a “faith-light.” They seem to want to do only what is absolutely necessary.

To put it another way, Jesus has a lot of fair-weather followers today. They will be Christians when it’s convenient, when it’s easy, or when it’s the popular thing to do. But the moment things get difficult, the moment hardship hits, the moment persecution rears its head, they retreat. They abandon their faith. They prove themselves to be less than true followers, less than real disciples.

That certainly would explain why they’re not turning the world upside down. It also would explain why, far too often, the world seems to be turning the church upside down.

Believers today need to get back to Christianity the way it is given to us in the Bible, the way that Jesus proclaimed it, the way the early church lived it—not the watered-down version of today but authentic, New Testament Christianity. In short, we need to become disciples of the Lord.

Are you a disciple of Jesus Christ? Jesus asks His people to step out from the multitude, from the fair-weather followers, from the fickle people, to be His true disciples. Yet He never asks more from us than we can give. Not only will He reward our genuine discipleship, but He will also guide and direct us every step of the way.

Reflection question: What would bold discipleship look like in your life? Discuss Today's Devo in Harvest Discipleship!

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The audio production of the podcast "Greg Laurie: Daily Devotions" utilizes Generative AI technology. This allows us to deliver consistent, high-quality content while preserving Harvest's mission to "know God and make Him known."

All devotional content is written and owned by Pastor Greg Laurie.

Listen to the Greg Laurie Podcast

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“So let us stop going over the basic teachings about Christ again and again. Let us go on instead and become mature in our understanding. Surely we don’t need to start again with the fundamental importance of repenting from evil deeds and placing our faith in God.” (Hebrews 6:1 NLT)

As a father and a grandfather, I know from personal experience that babies are a lot of work. For instance, it takes a great deal of effort to teach a baby how to eat. You start with baby food, which presents its own unique set of challenges. And then comes solid food, which must be cut into baby-sized bites. Of course, a baby doesn’t always want to eat, so you must think of creative ways to get the baby to take the food. Children need to learn how to eat their food, cut up their food, and ultimately prepare their food. That’s all part of growing up.

The author of Hebrews reframes this idea of growing up in spiritual terms. Many people have never grown up spiritually. They made an initial commitment to Christ but have never really understood what it means to be a totally committed follower of Jesus. In short, they have not responded to what the Bible calls discipleship.

This isn’t just a matter of ignoring biblical exhortations such as “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18 NLT). It’s also a matter of missing vital opportunities and life experiences. Think of all the culinary delights you’ve enjoyed since you progressed from baby food to solids. Think of how your palate has changed and matured. Think of all the different tastes you’ve experienced. Think of the many ways you’ve been nourished.

The same principle applies to Christian growth. Progressing from spiritual milk to spiritual meat, as described in Hebrews 5:11–14, requires effort and a willingness to stretch, to step outside your comfort zone. But the rewards are more than worth the effort.

The Christian life is more than simply saying a prayer of commitment to Christ. It involves following Jesus not only as your Savior but also as your Lord. If your only source of spiritual intake is hearing other people preach sermons, then you will be in a relatively weakened state spiritually. There is a place for teaching and preaching, but you must learn how to cut your own food, so to speak. You must learn how to feed yourself spiritually.

Hebrews 6:1 says, “So let us stop going over the basic teachings about Christ again and again. Let us go on instead and become mature in our understanding. Surely we don’t need to start again with the fundamental importance of repenting from evil deeds and placing our faith in God” (NLT).

We need to mature as believers and refuse to be spiritual babies forever. We need to grow up to be men and women of God.

Reflection question: In what areas do you need to grow spiritually? Discuss Today's Devo in Harvest Discipleship!

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The audio production of the podcast "Greg Laurie: Daily Devotions" utilizes Generative AI technology. This allows us to deliver consistent, high-quality content while preserving Harvest's mission to "know God and make Him known."

All devotional content is written and owned by Pastor Greg Laurie.

Listen to the Greg Laurie Podcast

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Support the show: https://harvest.org/support

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.