ChristFollowers

"Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it."
~Matthew 10:37-39

It's been a big couple weeks. Big, but very good. This verse strikes me because of one of the biggest events --some friends of my parents (they're the parents of three of Josef and I's friends) have decided and felt called to move to Zambia in a year and be full time missionaries. And while we will miss them, we cannot tell them not to go because they're being called by God and we all know that this is important. It's good timing; all three kids will be out of the house after this school year and they don't have any grandbabies yet.

We've been able to see their struggle though. They are leaving family here--they're leaving everything. Really, they're picking up their crosses and they're following Christ. I am overwhelmed by the weight of their sacrifice. And while there may be tears, they are tears of joy and pride.

One of the hardest things for them is the lack of support from their parents. I pray that they read this verse time and time again. They are doing what Jesus called them to do. Isn't this the biggest test? Even though they don't have full support from their parents they are moving forward.

Now, I'm not saying that we should shun our parents, and that is not what these friends of ours are doing. No, we should still respect our parents (and our children). But we should be willing to put God above all these things. The list of our priorities should put God first and then family. How have you prioritized your life?

We should be ChristFollowers. So, I challenge you, are you willing to put your life aside to follow Christ?