What does it mean to be a disciple. What does it mean to pick up your cross. What does it mean to count the cost. Those are hard things to define, let alone practice. We struggle at times to even put those concepts into words.
Luke tells us in chapter 14 that large crowds were following Jesus and at one point he turned to them and gave them three illustrations that define discipleship, counting the cost, and picking up your cross. [read verses 25-33 today)
The first illustration is a doozy! Luke 14:26: “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.”
Jesus often used hyperbole to get his point across. Hyperbole is extravagant exaggeration, such as someone advertising “mile high ice cream cones.” We know that while the cone may be bigger than most, it certainly isn’t literally a mile high.
Jesus was not advocating that we hate our parents, spouses, children, or siblings–even our own lives—literally. He used this illustration and the word “hate” to remind us that to be His disciple, He must always hold first place in our affections. The Greek word for hate here can also be translated to mean “to love less.”
The crowds often followed Jesus to get something from Him. He reminded them that to be true disciples, we must love Him more than anything in this life, even those things that are most precious and dear to us.
