The church and the family (Part 3)

My first post on this topic -- "The church and the family" -- asked a series of questions based on the following statement at a church's website:

"We believe that the family is the first and most important institution that the Lord created. Moreover, following God the family should hold the highest priority."

My second question in response to this declaration is:

"Is this consistent with what Jesus is teaching when He offers some hard sayings at various points in His earthly ministry regarding His disciples' devotion to Him in contrast to their devotion to family members?"

Here are some of those sayings of our Lord:

“Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household. He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it." (Matt. 10:34-39)

Then His mother and His brothers arrived, and standing outside they sent word to Him and called Him. A crowd was sitting around Him, and they said to Him, “Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are outside looking for You.” Answering them, He said, “Who are My mother and My brothers?” Looking about at those who were sitting around Him, He said, “Behold My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of God, he is My brother and sister and mother.” (Mark 3:31-35)

Now large crowds were going along with Him; and He turned and said to them, “If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple." (Luke 14:25-27)

What are we to think?

First, I think Jesus would have a difficult time winning the family values vote if He ran for political office in our day with that kind of paper trail.

On a more serious note, these teachings by Jesus should shake our worlds if we have deified family or exalted it to a higher place than God intended.

For one thing, Jesus is establishing there is a relationship far more significant than the closest of relationships within the nuclear family.

For another, He clarifies the gospel cuts right through families, just like it does through other relationships and institutions. His gospel is the ultimate divider.

And for another, He establishes there is a family He is part of -- and His disciples are part of -- that supersedes His own earthly family and all other earthly families.

Marriage and families are good -- very good. God created them for a purpose as a blessing to humanity and society. We are blessed to be a part of them.

But God sent His Son to bring into existence an eternal family, a family not joined by blood or earthly adoption but by His blood and spiritual adoption. While we are to love our spouse and other family members sacrificially, we are to love Christ supremely. We are to realize the gospel of Jesus brings all of those He saves into union with Him -- and into a kinship with one another that is centered in Him.

So do the sayings of Jesus support the idea the nuclear family is the "most important institution that the Lord created?" They don't appear to.