how easily I forget

How easily I forget who is in my corner. Who I am walking down a dark alley with. The One who's got my back.

"I, even I, am he who comforts you.
Who are you that you fear mortal men,
the sons of men, who are but grass,

that you forget the LORD your Maker,
who stretched out the heavens
and laid the foundations of the earth,
that you live in constant terror every day
because of the wrath of the oppressor,
who is bent on destruction?
For where is the wrath of the oppressor?

The cowering prisoners will soon be set free;
they will not die in their dungeon,
nor will they lack bread.

For I am the LORD your God,
who churns up the sea so that its waves roar—
the LORD Almighty is his name.

I have put my words in your mouth
and covered you with the shadow of my hand—
I who set the heavens in place,
who laid the foundations of the earth,
and who say to Zion, 'You are my people.' "

-Isaiah 51:12-16 NIV

leaving your family

What does it mean, how does it look in our time, year 2008, to leave your family for the sake of Christ?

What's involved?

"And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first." (Matthew 19:29-30 NIV)

I don't think there is any mistake that this passage comes directly after Jesus' encounter with the rich young ruler. Leave wealth. Leave family. The two things that possibly bring the most comfort in our world. Leave them for Jesus. I don't think Jesus calls us to leave them completely, to cut them off. Rather, on the contrary, we are to love them and honor them, but that flows out of a primary love for Christ.

Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple." (Luke 14:25-27 NIV)

In this case, I'm not sure if hate has the same meaning as we use hate today. Hate is the opposite of love, so I think this passage is saying you are to love your family less than Jesus when it comes down to it. He comes first.

What happens when your family impedes the fulness of living a Christ-following relationship? How are you to deny them to live for Christ while at the same time honor them in accordance with the commandments. It can be done. The how is the tricky part.