PODCAST
Greater Grace
September 14th, 2024
Luke 14:25-35
Luke 14 is difficult to read. Why would Jesus ask us to hate our family? Even our own lives? Does Jesus really mean we should hate the baby in our arms, perhaps that same baby that He himself welcomes in Luke 18? Biblical scholars suggest this is an example of Jesus speaking in hyperbolic images—exaggerated statements not meant to be taken literally—but still . . . .
With the cross casting its shadow over Him, Jesus needed to balance His open invitation to the banquet table recorded earlier in Luke 14 by laying out the potential cost of discipleship. Yet how can we possibly count the cost of following Jesus? We cannot know what service to Christ will one day bring to our lives, in the grief we bear for others or the personal cross of isolation and discouragement we carry.
Yet here is a promise we can cling to: No matter what form the cross takes, God’s grace is greater.
Author: Joann Shade
