Day 27 - Matthew 10:34-42

34 “Don’t imagine that I came to bring peace to the earth! I came not to bring peace, but a sword.

35 ‘I have come to set a man against his father,
    a daughter against her mother,
and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.
36     Your enemies will be right in your own household!’
37 “If you love your father or mother more than you love me, you are not worthy of being mine; or if you love your son or daughter more than me, you are not worthy of being mine. 38 If you refuse to take up your cross and follow me, you are not worthy of being mine. 39 If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it.

40 “Anyone who receives you receives me, and anyone who receives me receives the Father who sent me. 41 If you receive a prophet as one who speaks for God, you will be given the same reward as a prophet. And if you receive righteous people because of their righteousness, you will be given a reward like theirs. 42 And if you give even a cup of cold water to one of the least of my followers, you will surely be rewarded.”


Tori's Comments:

Verses 37-39 kind of strike me as harsh, but I know there's a reason for it.

There's no sugar-coating the cross. No sugar-coating the fact that nails were pounded into his joints and thorns scraped up against his skin. No sugar-coating the whip that shredded the back of the Son of God, or the pain that came with every one of his dying breaths.

There's no sugar-coating that Christians are still crucified in some parts of the world.

"If you refuse to take up your cross and follow me, you are not worthy of being mine."

It's not just something he said-- he meant it. 

Would it be worth it to you?

While things here in Canada are easygoing in comparison, that doesn't allow us to let our guard down and think of this life as more permanent than it is. Just because we aren't being martyred does't mean we don't have to give our lives to Him-- because we do.

Sometimes that looks like loving a difficult person, or forgiving someone who doesn't deserve it. 

Sometimes it looks like taking out the garbage no one else will, or donating money to missionaries rather than spend it on entertainment.

God doesn't ask everyone to go to exotic places and risk their lives for him, but he does ask everyone to crucify their selfish nature, to choose humility.

So is it worth it?


Terrie's Comments:

We are to love our fellow followers of Jesus Christ.  As we walk in unity with each other as a whole body of Christ, we honour God.  We were meant to be unified.  God didn't create denominations he created His church as one, meant to be unified as one body in Christ.




Take our personal comments or leave them. We would love to hear what stood out to you about today`s passage and how it encouraged you. Tell us in the comments below!