Day 93 "Fear of men or rejection of God, the choice should be clear."

Day 93

Matthew 10:37-39 "He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And He who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it."

This particular passage can truly place fear and often anger in the hearts of those who read it and do not understand it. For some, they will feel as though they are not worthy of Jesus’ love because they love their families so much and have such a deep paternal bond. However, I personally think there is much more to this passage than that.

Some years ago, I was preaching at the music concourse in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, and as was the custom afterward, we were sharing with some of the attendees on a more personal basis. I was approached by a middle-aged professional-looking man who represented himself as being of Jewish descent; he was obviously well educated and understood the scriptures extremely well, as most Jewish people do. As we shared conversation, he began to truly open up and told me that deep down he knew what I had shared about Jesus being the Messiah was true and that, in his heart, he truly believed Jesus was the way of salvation. However, there was no way he could ever admit it or profess openly that Jesus was the Son of God! You see, if he were to admit this truth, he would be going against everything his father and mother had taught him; his family would disown him, and he would be left alone. Upon further discussion, I realized that both of his parents were deceased, and I asked him, "How would they even know what you had done?" But, due to his deep love and adoration for his parents, even then, he would not confess Jesus as the Son of God, and he left a very sad and contrite man. You see, he knew the truth. He knew that by admitting it, he would be ostracized, and yet even more, he knew that denying Christ would keep him in fear–he could not win, and he was caught in a place of no hope. Yet even though I tried to convince him that he might be the one to lead his family out of bondage, the fear of losing their love kept him in bondage, and with freedom a breath away, he denied it.

Jesus was speaking directly to these people then and to these types of people today. Fear of open confession is a tool of the enemy, and he uses it to deceive us and our loved ones. To love Jesus is to desire to serve Him and to desire to tell others of this great gift that awaits all mankind. Our cross is not one that leads to crucifixion, but rather one that leads to blessings eternal, and it is truly easy to bear.

Daily Prayer: Father, help me not to fall into the traps of tradition or to yield to the fear of failure. Give me courage and boldness Lord that I may speak as I should, when I should. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

"Fear of men or rejection of God, the choice should be clear."

Pastor Gene Burroughs