Daily Devotional For Friday, October 24, 2025
Good morning and Fall has finally arrived. There is now a brisk coolness in the morning air and I love this weather. Cooler in the morning and warm in the afternoon. We are making our way through Matthew’s Gospel and we are going to pick up where we left off yesterday. Look at Matthew 10:32-37:
“Everyone who acknowledges Me publicly here on earth, I will also acknowledge before My Father in heaven. (33) But everyone who denies Me here on earth, I will also deny before My Father in heaven.(34) Don’t imagine that I came to bring peace to the earth! I came not to bring peace, but a sword. (35) I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. (36) Your enemies will be right in your own household!” (37) If you love your father or mother more than you love Me, you are not worthy of being Mine; or if you love your son or daughter more than Me, you are not worthy of being Mine. (NLT).
When we read these words by Jesus they seem overwhelming that our personal relationship to Him may hurt our relationships to family members. The Jews believed that when the Messiah came He would usher in an era of world peace. Jesus, the Messiah, says just the opposite would happen – especially in our most intimate relationships – family. So, when Jesus gives us His life, we have to choose either Him or family. There are no other options here.
Conflict will arise between those who accept Christ and those who reject Christ. Jesus was not encouraging disobedience to one’s parents, but an obedience that protects one’s relationship to HIm. Families know us the best and they know what buttons to push to get a reaction. Therefore, conflict with them over our relationship to Christ is inevitable. As we take up our cross and follow Jesus, this will at times put us at odds with our own family. We are not to neglect our family, but our loyalty to Him overrides and supersedes all other relationships.
While this may cause conflict and the lack of peace in family relationships, those following Christ will have an inner peace produced in them due to their obedience. There is coming a day when there will be universal peace when the Prince of Peace ushers this in for us (Isaiah 9:5-7). We see this promise in other Scriptures also: Zechariah 9:9-10, Matthew 5:9 and John 14:27.
In verses 35-36, Jesus was drawing from Micah 7:6, where in Micah 7:6, these conditions led people to yearn for the Messiah. In Matthew’s Gospel, these divisions were caused by the Messiah’s coming. Jesus’ point that at times even our own family members will act like violent foes against us for our faith in Him. In the early church, when Jews came to Christ, they were considered “dead” by family members and were excommunicated from their local synagogues. What was true then is true today. The road for a Jew or Muslim who comes to Christ is hard. Their family shun them and reject them. In this case, their own family members become their worst enemies.
Jesus did not force His disciples to sever all ties to family as modern day cults do today. Jesus’ point is that when obedience to Him conflicts with your family, we choose our obedience to Him. Loving the Lord must take priority over loving our families. Christ calls us to a higher calling and mission than family does. Life is no longer about our own tranquility but our trust in Him. Life is no longer about our comfort but our character. Once He gave us His life we are no longer ours because we have been bought with a price (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). This means even as we serve our families, our love cannot be self-serving and not used as reason for not serving the Lord. As disciples, we cannot be so involved in our family that we neglect the most important relationship of all – our relationship to Christ.
Assignment: Think back over your life. When was a time that your faith in Christ and your discipleship and commitment to Christ was problematic to your family? How did you handle it? If this has not occurred, why? Would you say that your relationship to your family ever hurts or impedes your relationship to Christ? Why or why not? What is the next step you need to take to keep your relationship to Christ a priority over your relationship to your family?
Scripture To Meditate On: Luke 12:8-9, “I tell you the truth, everyone who acknowledges Me publicly here on earth, the Son of Man will also acknowledge in the presence of God’s angels. (9) But anyone who denies Me here on earth will be denied before God’s angels” (NLT).
Prayer To Pray: “Dear Lord, help me to keep You as the number 1 priority in my life. When my family does not understand or like or question my commitment to You, I will do my best to explain it to them. Yet, I ask for Your wisdom in how to do this. For my lost family members and those who do not take their walk seriously with You, please do whatever is necessary to get their attention. I love You Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”
I love you Southside! – Pastor Kelly