Thoughts for the Day

Now large crowds were travelling with Jesus; and he turned and said to them, ‘Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule him, saying, “This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.”

(New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

In the West being a Christian can be something as simple as having a belief in God and attending church whenever it suits us or doing other things on a Sunday that doesn't involve worship. If we have been christened as a child we don't even have to make a formal commitment, the choice to follow Jesus can be picked up or put down.

In other places in our world the decision to be a Christian can be expensive, ie bring dreadful consequences. The most dangerous place in the world is North Korea, where incentives are offered to identify Christians, and where Christians are killed or deported to labour camps with their family sharing the same fate to the fourth generation. Worshipping together is too risky, yet numbers of Christians are estimated at being 300,000. Christians in places like Sudan, Libya, Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Somalia, Iran, Yemen and Eritrea are likely to be killed or imprisoned if they are discovered, according to Open Doors 'World Watch List'. Despite this many thousands remain true to their faith and follow Jesus.

Jesus uses the word 'hate' in the reading above from Luke's Gospel, when he speaks of loyalty to our family, but this word is normally used of something we 'love less' rather than actually dislike. So, we are called to love God more than anyone else, and we are called to 'carry our cross' that is, if necessary, to suffer for our faith.

Lord Jesus,
You suffered and died for our sake,
and You call us to be realistic about our faith,
accepting that it can cause us pain and anguish.
May we continue to hold in our prayers
those who face torture or death
and exposure by brutal regimes,
because of their belief in You.
May we also do all we can to
aid those who face such oppression.
Amen.