Jesus’ words sound very radical and even scary. He said: “If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.” So, how can we understand these words? Does Jesus really want us to ‘hate’ everyone around us? Of course not. Jesus wants us to respect and love others. But today He is saying that we should ‘hate’ everything that separates us from the Lord. We must hate and remove every obstacle that still limits us from full commitment to God. You can’t be Jesus’ disciples if you listen to those who discourage you from following Him. And we all know people like that; some of them may even be our closest relatives or friends. We must stop listening to them; we must ‘hate’ those who separate us from our faith in Jesus. Jesus is clear - we are all invited to become His disciples. But He is warning us today - calculate the cost of the discipleship because it won’t be easy.
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