Do You Hate Me?

“If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters - yes, even their own life - such a person cannot be my disciple." - Luke 14:26

That verse always makes me pause for a moment. Jesus wants us to hate everyone? No. Jesus simply wants us to love Him more. More than anyone. Even ourselves.

Who do you love most right now? A spouse? A parent? One of your kids? A super-best friend? Jesus wants us to love Him more than any of these. And that's where we often struggle.

How much do we love Jesus?

The key to understanding the meaning of this verse is to look at the Greek text. In the picture above we see that the Greek word for 'hate' is 'misei.' It actually means to "love less."

Perhaps a better way to understand this verse is to substitute those words for the word 'hate.'

“If anyone comes to me and does not love less their father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters - yes, even their own life - such a person cannot be my disciple."

Going one step farther, the translators COULD have said, "you must love me more than these." But that's not what scripture says.

The point of all this, I think, is our priorities in life. Is Jesus really our #1 love? We need to remember another verse in order to help us in this.

"At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven." - Matthew 22:30

People tend to think that, when they die, they will be reunited with dead loved ones, or can finally marry the one they truly love. That's not what Jesus just told us. We will all be worshipping and serving God, together.

God gives us friends, children, and spouses as earthly objects of our love and affection. But do we love Jesus more? Remember, God created us all in His own image. He is the creator of ALL things; therefore, we are His. Whatever He says, goes.

Many will struggle with this, but I think that's the point. Jesus said what He said to make us stop and think. Do we really love Jesus more than these? Paul has something to say about this.

"An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord’s affairs - how he can please the Lord. ³³But a married man is concerned about the affairs of this world - how he can please his wife -  ³⁴and his interests are divided. An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the Lord’s affairs: Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world - how she can please her husband. ³⁵I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord." - 1 Corinthians 7:32-35

One more verse to close with and I will leave it to you to wrestle with.

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength." - Mark 12:30