Christ and His Cause: Our First Commitment

I’m writing this before a little time off. I’ll try to be brief.

It seems that the greatest challenge we face from yesterday’s text (Luke 9.51-62) is Christ’s demand to put him even above our family. Many might think Jesus is a little rude here. He should have been more understanding. Isn’t a commitment to family a noble one? Two would-be disciples in this text are committed to their family. But Jesus calls them to his cause first and foremost.

Not that I have to explain Jesus’ action, but it does seem to make some sense to me. Permit me to give a less obvious and psychological explanation for Jesus’ words. I believe we need a center, a foundation, from which to live. No doubt Christ gives us that foundation. We are called to be a part of this great adventure of glorifying God as we pursue his kingdom. That commitment comes before family. And in making that commitment we receive the necessary distance that makes true love a possibility. Think about it: so often our love is tainted with a need to be needed; we end up loving ourselves but using other people. But if we love God first, love of neighbor becomes a possibility. Another way to say this is to say that you need to have a self before you can give yourself away. Christ can give us a self worth giving, as we follow the call to participate in his kingdom.

Outside of that psychological explanation, which still doesn’t explain everything and probably takes us away from the intention of the text, is Jesus who asks for an amazing commitment. It’s simple: our first commitment is always to Christ and his cause. Most of the time, our family will go with us; sometimes they won’t. It’s the latter that makes following Christ so hard at times. Peace.