Day 26: Costly Commitment

When they heard this, everyone in the synagogue was enraged. They got up, drove him out of town, and brought him to the edge of the hill that their town was built on, intending to hurl him over the cliff. But he passed right through the crowd and went on his way. Luke 4:28–30

The above drama in Luke chapter 4 took place at a synagogue in Nazareth, where Jesus preached to a hometown crowd. During His message, He claimed to be the Messiah, the Son of God. And because they considered His claim to be heretical, the congregation was infuriated. Now you probably remembered that Nazareth was the hometown of Jesus, but what you may not know is that during this period of ancient history, Nazareth was a very small town with a population of only about 200–300 people. Which means lots of the folks who got mad at Jesus over the content of His sermon were His extended family members. It’s one thing for your family to accuse you of being a nutjob. It’s a whole other thing when your cousins conspire to hurl you off a cliff.

For some of you, your choice to follow Jesus has caused friction in your family. A few of you may even have been “disowned” by your parents or close relatives because your Christian faith is so contradictory to their belief system. I know—at least in part—how you feel. I will never forget the night when I was a senior in high school and my stepdad became so infuriated by my overt faith in Jesus Christ that he opened the front door and threw my beloved Bible out into the yard in the rain because he refused to have it in his house anymore. My Dad Harper had divorced Mom and left us when I was four years old; two years later Mom married John (whom I called Dad Angel), and by then I was pretty desperate for an adult male’s affection and approval. It was devastating to be on the receiving end of my stepdad’s agnostic anger.

By the absolute grace of God, Dad Angel put his faith in Jesus eight weeks before he died, a salvation that might have shocked the angels themselves! I can totally picture those heavenly emissaries glancing at each other with raised eyebrows when he strolled past on those streets of gold whispering, “Man, I didn’t see that one coming!”

I’m incredibly grateful that my stepfather found peace with God two months before he died. However, the miraculous change at the very end of his life didn’t magically give those of us who loved him and Jesus amnesia. Every now and then we still wince because of the deep emotional wounds he inflicted when he was so antagonistic toward our faith. The shrapnel caused by family members who oppose your relationship with God can cut you to the very bone. If you’ve experienced that kind of grief, I’m so sorry. I sincerely hope you find comfort in the fact that Mark’s Gospel reveals our Savior knows exactly how we feel.

• Have you experienced strain, pain, and/or stress in a relationship with someone you love as a result of your relationship with Jesus?
• If so, are you praying faithfully for them by name?
• How does it encourage you that Jesus knows how you feel?