Ain't No Half Steppin'

Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: "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. – Luke 14: 25-27

Today’s Reading: 2 Samuel 3-5: Luke 14: 25-35

There goes Jesus playing zero games again.

Before you go running for the hills on this one take a deep breath, relax, and chill.

I know that I needed to.

I had actually forgotten about this passage. When I read it again I almost was like “that doesn’t sound like Jesus”. What happened to all the lovey dovey stuff: Don’t worry, love your neighbor as yourself, and all that jazz?

Now he’s saying that I gotta hate my loved ones? Huh?

But I get it now… what he’s saying is that walking that good path is NOT A GAME.

Ain’t no half steppin.

I’m reading this book by C.S. Lewis called The Four Loves. In his chapter about Affection he talks about those folks who need your affection to validate themselves.

Yes we’ve all been that person.

But what happens if you change your lifestyle in such a way that this person can’t really identify with you in the same way? Say you go away to school, start pursuing a dream, “find God”, or change your life in some other fundamental way.

Deciding to dedicate yourself to God’s purpose for your life is the ultimate expression of this example. There might be people in your past who just can’t deal with how you are growing and changing. They might try to pull you back into being the person that you are trying to grow out of.

You might have to tell some of these folks to kick rocks.

You can’t let anything or anyone get in the way of your God given purpose. If they really do love you, then they will eventually learn to accept you for who you are rather than preventing you from changing into who they fear you are becoming.

So keep your head up, stay strong, and keep taking steps forward. There’s no time for half steppin’.

Cause before you know it, half steppin’ turns into backpedaling. And instead of facing your purpose you are running from it.

And that’s no bueno.