The last couple of years Jesus’ words in Luke 14:26-33 have been rattling around in my head, wreaking havoc on my preconceived views of discipleship, the Christian life, and following Jesus.

In this passage Jesus says that unless:

1. I hate my family and myself,
2. take up my cross and come after him (on the road of suffering), and
3. renounce all that I have…

. . . I cannot be his disciple (3x).  Powerful.  Sobering.  Radical.  Scandalous.  Reckless.  Dead serious.  And very different from the Christianity that I was nurtured in the first 30-some years of my life.  I think I have a long way to go before I really understand the implications of Jesus’ ultimatum.

While we’re on this subject, if you haven’t been there yet check out Jesus is Worth it .com.

Few preachers I’ve heard echo the sentiment of Jesus’ words in this and other passages better than John Piper.

Here’s another one along the same lines: