“Hate” is a very abrasive word, yet in Luke 14: 25-27, Jesus talks to a large group of people who had begun following him around, and many English translations say that he told them if they don’t hate their families – and even themselves – then they could not be his disciples.

Such a harsh statement seems contrary to other biblical teachings about honoring your parents (one of the Ten Commandments, in fact!). What did Jesus mean by that comment? Instead of the word “hate,” The Message paraphrase says that we mustn’t “refuse to let go of” those relationships. In a nutshell, Jesus ought to be our most important relationship … the center of our lives.

We talked last week about the Faith Hall of Fame lineage from Adam to Noah, and something stood out to me as I was counting how old each generation lived to be. Two of Noah’s relatives were still alive while he was building the ark: his father, Lamech, and his grandfather, Methuselah. Since we know that Noah was apparently the only person on the planet who found favor in God’s eyes (Gen. 6:8), I don’t think it is too much of a leap to speculate that Lamech & Methuselah weren’t walking with God.

Lamech died just a few years before the flood, but imagine with me, if you will, what life must have been like for Noah during those ark-building years. Lamech may have berated him, told him what a fool he was, that he’d never amount to anything. Yet, Noah persisted in obeying God.

Methuselah’s story is even more astounding. Apparently, he died in the same year as the flood – perhaps even during the flood. It would take an extraordinary trust in God to close the door on your own grandfather, knowing what was about to happen, and yet choosing to follow God’s instructions, anyway.

Noah put the Lord first and foremost, even when it meant “letting go of” his family who were not walking in faith. I imagine that Noah grieved terribly as the rain began to fall, and even more so during the long, stir-crazy months cooped up with his immediate family in the ark adrift on the worldwide sea. In a life-or-death situation, Noah followed God and didn’t look back.