Choose Jesus

Posted by Jeffrey Smith February 10th, 2016 2,111 Views 0 Comments

Matthew 10:34-39: Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law a man's enemies will be the members of his own household. Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me, and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 

I became a new Christian somewhat later in life than most.  Soon after I discovered that my devotion to the One who saved me from death, destruction, fear, panic, poverty, and sickness was questioned even in my own home. My wife had known me before Jesus saved me, and suddenly found herself married a different person. This had to be confusing and fearful for her to see a brand new creation from the ashes of who she once knew. You see, she knew what she knew about me. And because she is such a good wife, she had accepted me as I was, a broken man. Yet despite my faults and lack, we slugged through it. 

When Jesus shows up in our lives, there will be massive change. There will be old things falling away to make way for the new. Even if it is a better situation overall, the growth, and change can be so rapid that people who once had us pegged could no longer count on us for certain reactions. Old habits die off, and responses can seem weird or strange. 

Take a look at the Israelites as they moved from slavery into the desert. Most of the people, even after being freed from bondage, desired to go back to Egypt.  Simply because they had better culinary options! Change can be messy, fearful, and dividing. 

What Jesus is talking about in this scripture is the fact that we all have a choice to make. When we choose the side of Jesus, we have to be prepared for the fallout from even the closest of our relationships. Even Jesus when He went to His hometown performed limited miracles, why? Because others did not see Him as the savior of the world, but the son of a carpenter and nothing more. They knew and grew up around Jesus, and they couldn't accept Him. Matthew 13:57 says: And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, Only in his hometown and in his own house is a prophet without honor. 

You see, the closest people to us will always see our flaws, our faults, the characteristics that aren't pious or what the world perceives as a Christian. People will call us all kinds of names, and use our human-ness as a way to try and belittle what Jesus is doing in our life. It is only when they too come into the grace of Jesus Christ that they may see us as He sees us. 

This can be a real stumbling block in relationships, yet we must keep our focus on who Jesus is making us, and not what others are making us out to be. Jesus did come to show the division between Him and the world. When we are in Jesus, we have to be prepared for where He is elevating us to. Others may become jealous, or fearful.  

They may become hurtful with their words. We cannot be worried about that, we have to know that with Jesus, He is in control, and nobody else. Sometimes the most well-meaning friends, parents, and loved ones desire what they think is best for us.  But with Jesus, there is nobody higher. When we see Jesus as our decision maker, our all in all, there is nothing that compares to Him. I am not saying that you drop your loved ones and tell them you don't love them anymore, but what I am saying is that when we connect with Jesus, no worldly relationship could ever be as important.  No worldly relationship can be as intimate as He desires to have with us. He knows us more than our mother-in-law. He knows us more than our earthly father. He knows us more than anyone, and also knows what we will become in Him. Yet we still have a choice, and I promise you that when we choose to be all in with Jesus, our lives will be transformed into the greatest version of our life that is possible in this world.