Is Christ Our Highest Priority?

"If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple." Luke 14:26

There's a saying that is often misquoted, and thus misapplied, that goes "The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb."  It means that the blood shed in battle bonds soldiers together more strongly than simple genetics.  Different situations and different circumstance in life can cause us to forge stronger bonds with some people than with others.  Most people are more likely to save a friend than a stranger, or a family member than a friend.  Soldiers must be willing to put the well being of their country before their own safety or even the safety of those they love.

Where should Christ land on our priority list?  If we had to choose between Jesus and someone else in our lives, who should take priority?  Jesus said that we are to love him more than father or mother [Matt 10:37].  In fact, he goes so far as to say that anyone who does not hate father or mother is not worthy of him [Luke 14:26].  He doesn't literally mean hate since that would go against God's own commands on how we are to love our parents [Deut 5:16, Eph 6:1-2]  Rather, our love for Christ should be so strong that our love for anyone else, even our family, should pale in comparison.

We must love Jesus so much that he comes first it any situation.  If our job pulls us away from Christ, we must be willing to change jobs.  If our friends pull us away from Christ, we must find new friends.  Even if our family tries to come between us and Christ, we must put Christ first.  There is no better application of the quote previously mentioned than this.  Christ shed his blood for our salvation, so the blood of his covenant must be thicker than the water of the womb.  It must be stronger than any other bond we forge in this life, or we are not worthy of Christ.