My children or my Lord?

"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 10:37-38, NKJV)

This verse speaks directly to an issue confronting my wife and I in our walk with the Lord: how to balance our duty as parents against our duty as stewards. In all honesty, we stay in constant financial difficulty because we spend a ridiculous amount of our resources supporting unemployed, grown children who cannot or will not provide for themselves. What we are coming to realize is that this is NOT love; it is in fact sin, because we are placing our feelings for them above our duty to God to use the gifts He has given us wisely, and the verse above spells that out loud and clear.

A prevailing attitude that has grown in the world over the last few decades is that "Your children should come first in your life." People are judged on their parenting ability by how much they give to their kids, how much they do for them; parents strive to provide "a better life for my kids than I had growing up". Well, that sounds fine and well-intentioned, but when that goal becomes more important than following Jesus, haven't we crossed the line into idolatry? Shouldn't we, as Christians, be striving instead to follow Him, placing God first in our lives? Of course we should. The difficulty arises when we lose sight of how best to do that.

"There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death." (Prov 14:12)

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths." (Prov 3:5-6)

In both cases, what Solomon is saying is that human beings will do things that feel right or seem to be the best, but are not God's way or will. The only right thing to do is seek God's face, and study His Word; only then will we know what is the proper course to take. This is done through prayer and meditation, of course, but also through reaching out to other believers, sharing our burdens with Godly men and women who can provide their experience, insight, and perspective, and help us to see the things we are too close to to recognize.

When Jesus says to take up our cross and follow Him, He is not speaking lightly. In Roman times, taking up a cross only had one meaning: death. This is precisely what Jesus meant - death to ourselves, which must precede being reborn into Him. Only then can we be worthy to follow Him into eternal life. Understanding this is key to living the life that God has called us to, to being all that He has in mind for us to be.

I praise God and thank Him anew each day that He reveals more to me of His love and commitment to His children. I praise and thank Him for the family of the Church that He has provided to mentor and support us as we grow more toward His image each day. I pray that each of you is aware of how much we need to depend on Him and each other to make it through the trials of this life, and live completely for Him. I am , and it makes all the difference.