“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, and furthermore, even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. “ (Luke 14:26)
The opening words of Jesus in this week’s gospel may sound shocking to many. Yet what Jesus is saying here is that if we want to be His disciples, we must count the cost, we must know what is required of us. And what He requires is that we value our relationship with Him over and above all other relationships. That means obedience to Him even if it antagonizes our closest relatives and friends. He does not want us to be deliberately obnoxious or mean to anyone. It will happen as we live out the righteousness of Christ.
Living in Jesus’ righteousness means we must forsake all that the values the world holds so dearly, all that it teaches and promotes that is contrary to the Word of God. We cannot compromise with the world. We cannot put Jesus and the values of His Kingdom in second place to anything or anyone. And that will get us into trouble. Our acknowledgement of salvation in Christ alone will engender hatred and violence as those who oppose the Lord seek to silence us. The gospel is going to make people uncomfortable. It will make them feel guilty. It will make them angry. It will not win us friends.
Instead Jesus calls us to be salt in the world. In ancient times as now, salt was a preservative that kept food from rotting as well as a flavor enhancer. Christians are to be like that salt, living lives of righteousness and peace that prevent the world from succumbing to the rottenness of sin. In addition we are to be tasty to the world, that is, we have to be loving believers who manifest the love and mercy of Jesus through our worship and good deeds. We must never forget to preach the pleasant taste of grace in balance with the sting of the law. We cannot mix God’s truth with the ideas and feel-good philosophies of the world. Our influence in the world depends on our remaining distinct from it, not something that looks like it. When we Christians are indistinguishable from the world we have become useless like tasteless salt. Let us take stock of our own lives to see where we fall short, where we have compromised the truth of the gospel. Then let us ask the Lord to enable us to live in total dedication to Him. The goal is to live out the gospel and so lead the lost to repentance and faith.