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Not Peace, but a Sword

34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace but a sword.(A)

35 For I have come to set a man against his father,
and a daughter against her mother,
and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law,(B)
36 and one’s foes will be members of one’s own household.(C)

37 “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me,(D) 38 and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me.(E) 39 Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.(F)

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34-37 “Don’t think I’ve come to make life cozy. I’ve come to cut—make a sharp knife-cut between son and father, daughter and mother, bride and mother-in-law—cut through these cozy domestic arrangements and free you for God. Well-meaning family members can be your worst enemies. If you prefer father or mother over me, you don’t deserve me. If you prefer son or daughter over me, you don’t deserve me.

38-39 “If you don’t go all the way with me, through thick and thin, you don’t deserve me. If your first concern is to look after yourself, you’ll never find yourself. But if you forget about yourself and look to me, you’ll find both yourself and me.

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