34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.36 And a person's enemies will be those of his own household. 37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. (Matthew 10)
Pulled out of context, if one did not know who was speaking, this would seem very untypical of Jesus. They sound like fightin' words. Especially when elsewhere His mission is referred to as bringing peace. Context is everything. He has been talking about the persecution to be expected when one truly follows after Him; if they persecuted Him, they will persecute His followers. Sometimes such persecution comes from where we least expect it: those we love, whom we would hope would support us. Christ demands and deserves to be first. When one's family gets in the way, it is a hard choice to make, a cross to bear, a sacrifice to make. In the first century, and throughout history to this date, many who have chosen to follow Jesus have faced unthinkable treatment at the hands of their own families: being shunned, beaten, considered dead, and literally made dead. It seems unimaginable to many of us with our "freedoms," but it is very real. For us, we need to be thankful, pray for those who are being persecuted, and examine our lives for how easily anything and everything, and even anyone and everyone, comes before Him in our lives. May conviction be a piercing sword in us.
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