Title: The Disciple's Way
tower and war
cross as a disciple
None of us here would think of this as teaching Jesus to actually hate his family. In fact, unless it is a very special case, there are very few cases of enmity with the family for religious matters. Occasionally, we hear about the suffering of a daughter-in-law who was married to an unbelieving or Buddhist family, but that is not a common occurrence. The early Christians, who had to maintain their faith within the order of Judaism and Roman politics, probably felt the real threat of martyrdom, and since then in human history such circumstances have been unusual, although there have been special occasions.
disciple's way
ownership orientation
Let's listen to Jesus again. Jesus said that anyone can become a disciple of Jesus only by giving up all that he has (verse 33). Those who have not experienced the kingdom of God spiritually will eventually be able to secure themselves only through possessions. This phenomenon has two sides. An possession-oriented person cannot experience the kingdom of God in the end, and a person who has not experienced the kingdom of God has no choice but to live an ownership-oriented life. Of these two phenomena, once one is broken, the other can be resolved. But in general, because these two phenomena are fixed in us, our life loses its vitality as a synagogue. The things to hate listed in verse 26 were our possessions. Those who make their life goal by expanding and reproducing such possessions will never be able to follow the path of discipleship.
We now want to own everything, not just those listed above. Even faith considers it a matter of possession. The church is also becoming an object of ownership. Even the church, which is purely dependent on the Kingdom movement, is divided into 'your church' and 'my church', and they are satisfied with each other's sense of ownership. If you don't think of the church as an object of ownership, you won't give so much money, and you won't invest all your time in church activities. This unusual passion for the Korean church is clearly evidence that they are approaching faith from the level of possession.
existence
Faith is a thoroughly ontological event. It is no coincidence that Jesus today talked about the saltiness of salt. The presence of salt is salty. It's not the amount of salt that matters, it's the fact that it's salty. If there is salt that has lost its saltiness, it is useless no matter how much. On the other hand, even a very small amount can be useful if the salty taste is maintained. To become a disciple of Jesus means to live concentrating on this salty taste. What does it mean to stay salty?
Let's think easy. Keeping it salty means putting everything at stake in being a disciple of Jesus. Nothing more is asked of us. We are just taking one step at a time toward the Kingdom of God proclaimed by Jesus. To live in the face of the life, love, joy, freedom and peace of that country. Disciples will open our hearts to allowing that world to rule our lives. Just like the poets, flowers and butterflies, trees, mountains, rivers, etc., open your mind to all the world.