Morning Devotional
April 26, 2005
"The Hub of Life"  
    by Don Emmitte

Great crowds were following Jesus. He turned around and said to them, "If you want to be my follower 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. And you cannot be my disciple if you do not carry your own cross and follow me. "But don't begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first getting estimates and then checking to see if there is enough money to pay the bills? Otherwise, you might complete only the foundation before running out of funds. And then how everyone would laugh at you! They would say, `There's the person who started that building and ran out of money before it was finished!'” (Luke 14:25-30 NLT).

 

Jesus consistently emphasized the importance of a full commitment to him. We have been looking at grace and its impact in our lives the last few days. Today, the reading above came to my mind. It has played a very significant role in the shaping of some of the pivotal decisions of my life.

 

I do not believe Jesus is teaching that we should not love our family. On the contrary, he has shown himself to care very deeply for his family. When he was dying on the cross, one of his final acts was to insure the care of his mother by instructing John to take care of her. However, I think he is emphasizing that in order to love our family as we should, we must place Christ at the hub of our lives.

 

Think of it. With Christ at the hub of our lives we learn what real sacrifice and love truly mean. With Christ at the hub of our lives we are empowered to act on our love with wisdom and kindness. Certainly when we treat our family with such care and concern, others will benefit as well. It is not an easy choice. It requires paying a severe price. However, it is a price well worth the end result. Think of it this way, at the close of life, the question will not be:

 

"How much have you gotten?" but "How much have you given?"
Not "How much have you won?" but "How much have you done?"
Not "How much have you saved?" but "How much have you sacrificed?"
It will be "How much have you loved and served," not "How much were you honored?"  

 

If Jesus were evaluating your level of discipleship today, what would he say to you? Have you built your life on a firm foundation? Have you placed him at the hub of your life? What difference has grace made in your life? These are questions worth answering today!