FILL-IN-THE-BLANKS

Today's reading: Luke 13-15

"Great crowds were following Jesus. He turned around and said to them, If you want to be my followers you must love me more than*your own father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters--yes, more than your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple." Luke 14:25-26 NLT

*you must hate

My Life Application Bible has a small asterisk after the phrase more than that refers me to a footnote that refers to a more literal Greek translation.

That footnote gave me pause this morning.

Not because I am a student of the Greek language.

Or a deep theologian of translations of the Bible.

But because for a brief moment, I thought about what I might place in the space after the asterisk...how I might fill-in-the-blank.

If you want to be my followers you must love me more than _____.

Oh, friends, I came up with a grocery list of things I could insert.

Loved ones like my child, my husband, my parents, my sisters?

Friends, especially the praying ones I depend upon and the ones I hope to have lean upon me? 

Emotions like happiness, pride, perfection?

Creature comforts, like comfort, do I love comfort more than I love Jesus? 

Personal victories. Would I prefer to be right over being holy? Would I choose to be well known over being known as His? Do I crave applause from people or from Him?

I filled in some blanks this morning in my prayer time with God and discovered I had a few things to put aside if I were truly to be one of His disciples.