“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters — yes, and even his own life — he cannot be my disciple.” (v. 26)

It’s a striking equation:

Jesus, in expounding the radical cost of following Him, says, “Unless you hate your own family, you cannot be my disciple.”

We think, “How could that be? Our families are gifts! We are bound to love them. How could we hate them?”

The answer, it seems, is this: If your love for Jesus is anything less that total—if your commitment to Him is qualified by questions about the cost—then it’s not the love of a disciple. Comparatively, our love for Him ought to make every other love look small—and it ought to compel the kind of allegiance that prizes faithfulness even over family.

That’s a steep calling.

How does it make you feel?

— Tyler