Love Them Anyway

Scripture:

Matthew 10:32-38 (NIV)

“Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.

“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 their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me.

Devotional:

This can be a troubling verse to accept.  Sometimes we might even be a little confused.  Christ is has not set out to make enemies of our family members.  However, we are to make Him our priority.  God comes before anyone else.  That includes spouses, parents, and even our children.  God does not want to be second best, or in second position.  For our non believing family members that can be hard to accept and understand. 

How do we deal with these issues?  They are not easy, they hit “too close to home.”  As a matter of fact it can be like a missile strike that has been aimed at our front door.  The missile unfortunately all too often hits the target dead on.  Satan wants nothing more than separating us from God.  He e will use anything he can to achieve his goal.  So how do we overcome?  Matthew 4:44 (NIV) states the following, “But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”   Christ is love and through Him we are to love.  It is by showing love regardless of how they treat us or what they say that we can overcome.  It is not always easy, in fact it rarely is.  Just remember that Christ paid the ultimate price.  He suffered greatly out of love.  Let Him be your example.  Through the Holy Spirit we can overcome and we can love.