"He who hates his life in this world..."
Jesus isn't telling us to hate life. That would be stupid. Jesus is the giver of life. To hate life is to hate God.
But Jesus said that if he hates his life in this world he would keep it unto "everlasting".
People, it seems to me, can't merely choose to add a little Jesus to their lives. I think that in order to come to Him we have to have messed up our lives sufficiently that we need it to be over.
In Luke, Jesus said that if we don't hate our lives, we are not worthy of Him. 14:26 If any [man] come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. Jesus is not asking us to hate our parents, siblings, or spouses. He is telling us that the opinions of these people - even our own opinions - can prevent us from being His disciple.
If I may be the devil's advocate: I believe that this commandment extends to even the church. If you do not hate the church, you cannot be His disciple. There are more churches preventing people from becoming disciples of Christ than there are churches dedicated to it. Without getting too dogmatic about it, I believe there will be some very surprised people come Judgment Day.
Rob | 
Follow this blog
