The Devil's Highlighter

If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14:26)

Interpretation: This one is taken slightly out of context. Upon reading the rest of the words of Jesus in Luke 14-26-35 we find that he suggests we must give up everything to follow him. This is still quite the shock to the average Christian. Here, Christ suggests that we must give up our families, our friends, all our possessions, and even ourselves, take up a cross and follow after him. Either interpretation is rather strange to our current sensibilities. There are not many who would give up everything to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. I certainly couldn't imagine a member of the decorated clergy doing such a thing. Perhaps all of the Christianity has strayed from it's true message. Perhaps we should all become paupers and make ourselves sacrifices to this world. Perhaps the interpretation isn't out of context and Jesus really did want us to hate our families. If that's the case, then it certainly contradicts the common theme of Jesus as the "Prince of Peace". Print This Post