“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.

We are often evaluated on external criteria: how we look, how we perform, etc. What does it mean to you that God looks at the heart?

In the 10 generations between Adam & Noah, three people made the Faith Hall of Fame (Heb. 11). What does faith look like in our generation?

If you were to be honored for a single accomplishment in your life, what would you want it to be?

God’s Hall of Fame (Heb. 11) doesn’t include the most athletic, intelligent, or even the most outgoing people. It honors the most faithful.

What does it look like, in your everyday life, to walk with God?

We talked yesterday about imagining hanging out with God. Are there some places you wouldn’t want to take him? Why not? Why hide from him?

In Genesis 2 & 3, we learn that Adam & Eve used to hang out with God. What would you like to do, if God came to visit with you today?

Many kids aspire to see their names in a Hall of Fame when they grow up. In fact, right here in Waco, we have the Texas Sports Hall of Fame museum, which commemorates athletic achievements across the state. There are plenty others, of course, and not all of them are related to sports. (Personally, I’d love a Pulitzer, but I digress.) As I began thinking about our new sermon series on putting God at the center of our lives, I remembered another Hall of Fame, found in Hebrews 11.

This Hall of Fame doesn’t have anything to do with athletic prowess or geeky achievements; instead, it features champions of faith since the dawn of creation. Adam was 130 years old when his third son, Seth, was born. (Earlier in the story, Adam & Eve’s eldest son, Cain, murdered his brother Abel and was then exiled into the wilderness.) The Bible says in Genesis 4:25 that around the time Seth had his first son (at the age of 105), “people began to call upon the name of the Lord” (ESV). Isn’t it interesting that it took 235 years for people to start worshiping God?!?

Adam lived another 800 years after Seth was born, which meant that he was alive to see Noah’s father, Lamech. It also meant that he witnessed two of the champions in the Hebrews 11 Hall of Fame: his deceased son, Abel, and his great-great-great-great-grandson, Enoch. Genesis 5:24 tells us that Enoch “walked with God” and one day, he simply disappeared because God took him. Hebrews 11:5-6 fills in the details a bit by explaining that Enoch was a man of faith, and he did not experience death; he was simply taken to heaven directly. Wow!

Enoch also happened to be the great-grandfather of Noah, who is also described in Genesis 6 as someone who pleased God. Not surprisingly, Noah also made it into the Hebrews 11 roster. Enoch and Noah did not seem to have any superhuman abilities or extraordinary accomplishments (except for the whole building-the-ark thing, but that was after Noah had proven himself faithful to the Lord). They just walked with God.

So, as we talk about putting God at the center of our lives, we’re not discussing rocket science. It’s a simple matter of choice, day in and day out, to walk with him in faith and practice.

God speaks through his word. What are you reading in the Bible right now? What might he be trying to say to you through his word?