Loving My Family: It Is Well Worth The Cost!

-“Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?’” (Matthew 16:24-26) To faithfully follow Jesus in my home will mean denial of myself and choosing to sacrifice. I can live in the home without that mindset but the result is a wounded wife and distant children. No man ever sets out to create disconnected marriage or broken relationships with his children. But by simply failing to follow Jesus and His ways of sacrificially loving my family I am choosing to lose the fullness of life that He has for me. It is simply the sin of omission. And by trying to hold onto my comfort and what will meet my needs I lose big time. I can “gain the whole world” in business successes, personal accomplishments or public accolades but I will lose what is closest and most valuable to me, my very own soul…and my very own family.. Dear Lord Jesus, I follow You and I accept the costs, the sacrifices I need to make as that is where I will meet You in the midst. Nothing in this world can be compared to knowing You, even if I lose my family, I will still have You and You are my deepest longing. In Your Name, Amen.