The perception that a strong believe needs a strong sacrifice up to the point of hating family or not having one is merely a concept created and manipulated by men's pride. The Bible doesn't tell you that.

At the contrary, the commandment is to be fruitful and for marriages to love each other as one and learn to forgive and repent. The term sacrifice should be best use for the indication of material possessions not spiritual ones such love. To detach from family members or love ones, to better serve a religious path is not just wrong, but a sin.

LUKE 14:26-32 Discipleship It's not about hate, but learning to love.

The importance of having strong commitments to family, friends and others can not be made more clear than in Luke 14:26-32. This is a lesson and a warning by Jesus, where he tells people who his disciples are and should be, and what will be the result and danger of becoming a person greedy of religion. Giving up money is not a problem, but giving up family and love ones - that is different.

If you read the "whole" chapter (Luke 14) you will have a better understanding of the whole verse.

I do like this chapter because of its intelligence to show a problem, and tell us who are the ones that are in real need of help. Not surprisingly they are the ones that are further from him and are in need of his assistance.

Who needs his (Jesus) teachings?

Certainly not the one that has and know everything. The ones that really needs him are the ones that have broken relationships, have hate or pain and are in desperately need of his teachings - they are his disciples!. Anyone that needs to learn about forgiveness and repentance. The ones that need to learn how to love his families and sons are his disciples.

Why would you need a teacher of a specific trade if you already know the trade or if you are the teacher of that trade? or who would you give a hamburger to; To the owner of a Mc Donald’s restaurant or the person that had to sleep on the street and is hungry?

Now, what would you tell to the owner of the Mc Donald's restaurant if he tells you: I will close my business down if you give me the burger. What would be your response?

In general the more pain you have, the further away from God you are, the more you need to learn, the more you need him, and anyone with a great sin/crime (carry his cross) is also or should be his/her disciple.

"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.

So, who are his disciples? - The ones with broken relationships, the ones that don’t even like themselves anymore, the ones experiencing pain, the father that needs to reconcile with his son. They are the ones that really need him. In other words these are the catalysts that brings people to him.

I’d said before, when you had a traumatic experience, you need someone to teach you how to put your life together and make changes. A person that can not longer cope with life up to the point of becoming suicidal, that is definitely a person that should seek his help and learn from his teachings. As a person becomes his/her disciple, that person will learn how to love everything he/she hates; family, friends and his/her own life.

How can crappy people, have such honour if they are a bunch of good for nothing and so far away from God?

A person that knows and chance will have the strongest motivation towards helping others. To build something you need the right materials, a strong foundation. not people that are doing it because of the "It is nice to do it" as they can easily get tired and leave the work undone or just leave because they getting scare of what people might say: The worse your experience is, the more you need to be forgiven, the more you’ll have to give to others, the more peace you will seek, and if your own life was in danger then you will be able to give a whole life of commitment so others won’t go through the same things:

"Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, ’This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’ "Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace.

A person that has everything from a good house, a beautiful (and respectful) wife, peace and money a person that do not suffer from hate, prosecution or any kind of abuse, a person that is closer to God than anyone or is a God, certainly won’t understand these verses as pride in people is a strong feeling, that only lets you see what you want to see. People like that, will question and will ask "Why should I follow you?" or I am so close to God so "How can I be your disciple?" Well to such self cantered question he answered like this:

In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he cannot be my disciple

In other words, to understand Jesus and the ones who follow him, you have to understand that life is not always the same for everyone and unless something terrible happens you will not have a clear picture of why so many people on recovery goes and follow moral guidance through a book like the bible. By giving up everything (the ones that love you) to understand him, when it’s not needed you will soon find out that Jesus will take you back to love your family and friends again, but beware:

Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out

Your family, partner and your own life are incredible important, helping families in moments of frustrations is crucial for everyone. On the other hand giving up, ignoring or hating the ones you love and loves you and blaming religion for it, is doing like some of the self cantered religious people of that time, thus, salt without saltiness - good for the manure pile. To hate or put down your families and the ones who love you to gain more God’s favour (even teaching about it) is not an answer but a problem to be solved.

This chapter shows the importance of relationships and keeping them, and what to do when things go wrong. The power that there is when people suffering from problems can recover and help in the building of groups that helps others. The life of Jesus revolves about family, friends, neighbours and how communities and societies should do things, rather than acquiring things. It also shows who are the best students, the ones who will get the most out of Jesus - and he will refer to this again in many other places in the New Testament; the poor, the fornicator, the ones who suffer and all of the people that we don’t think they are so great - well, they are his best disciples. But you can only get the meaning of these verses if you read the whole chapter, or you ever suffer from a broken relationship or great pain. As you suffer you will seek and as you seek he will provide and restore. If you are in doubt, then read the very last words of the prophet Malachi:

"And he will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the land with a curse", Malachi 4:6

It is rightful to dedicate your life to others in need, but in a healthy way, without pride, greed or at the cost of others or even the ones that loves you. He wants you to have a family and his work strong in unity and purity, surrounded by love, children, acceptance and understanding. No matter how big and expensive your church is, if there is no love, that church doesn’t have much value, the real value of a church is in its people and their commitment to life, not the opposite.

Last, remember that Jesus told Peter to follow him and Peter admitted to be a sinner. Perhaps of this is the reason why Peter is so important to the development of Christianity and the importance of Luke 14:26-35

Jesus doesn't command you to hate or to leave love ones behind. He rather wants you to leave your sins behind or better say "Forgive" and Repent". The bigger your change the better you will be and Peter is the example of the meaning of Discipleship. Curious why? Now is your time to find out about Peter. Hint, finish your research by reading 1 Peter 3:1-7

Jose Luis