Not too long ago during City Challenge I wrote down this phrase in my notebook. I must be willing to give up what I love to put God first in my life. The whole beginning of the week I had been struggling with not wanting to let go, I still loved God, but my unwillingness to let go of what I loved was keeping me from really connecting with Him. See if I'm to follow Christ and have a true relationship with Him I must be willing to sacrifice all that I love for Him. We must give up what we love to live for Christ. Now this does't mean that He will take all those things or people away from us, but we must let Him do so if its His will. We can't follow Christ without first sacrificing everything for Him.
Luke 14:25-27
Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.
Before I try to explain the first part of the verses let's first look at the second part about bearing our own Cross. I've often wondered what exactly that means, so what did it mean for Jesus? For Jesus what he did on the cross was sacrifice all of Himself to be able to fully love those He created. Through that sacrifice the vail separating a righteous God from us who are unrighteous was torn. In the same way we must sacrifice all of ourselves to Christ so that we can fully devote ourselves in love to Him.
Understanding the second part of these verses makes understanding the first part much easier. We don't need to actually have an intense dislike or hatred for our father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, and our own life, but we need to sacrifice such people and things to be able to fully devote ourselves to Christ in love. A blog post I was reading recently explained it this way; Your love for God should be so great that in comparison your love for your father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters and own life will look like hatred.
Ephesians 5:1-2
Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
The profound reality is; Christ gave up His life to gain those who He loved. We give up what we love to gain His life. Ultimately it is the art of sacrifice that allows us to be in communion with Christ. First we sacrificed lambs as atonement for sin for a little while, but then the lamb of God was sacrificed to atone for all sins. In the same way that Christ sacrificed Himself to sanctify us, we must sacrifice ourselves to Him for Him to fulfill His work of sanctification in us.
