Matthew 10:37-39 "He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it."
The tenth chapter of Matthew is full of instruction that Jesus gave to His disciples. He warned of men who would seek their destruction. He told them He was sending them forth as sheep among wolves. They would be persecuted and brought to stand before both Jews and Gentiles to bear witness of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Those that follow Christ are to revere God rather than man. In this instruction we find a very simple yet profound statement about the way our Heavenly Father watches over us. Jesus tells us that not one sparrow falls from the sky without our Father’s knowledge. The sparrow is found on every continent in the world except for Antarctica, so there are a lot of sparrows. In His eyes, we are worth far more than the sparrows.
Through all our trials, we have One who is faithful in all things. His faithfulness and love deserve our utmost attention and devotion. Jesus is not telling us that we should not love our parents or our children. He is telling us that our love for Him should be greater than our love for all others.
Dear ones, we cannot hold anyone or anything as being more important in our lives than Jesus. Without Him, we cannot properly love anyone else. If we would in any sense be deserving (worthy) to follow Him, then He must be the only One we follow. When we live according to our own devices, we will not find any lasting satisfaction in life. When we deny ourselves (lose our life), take up our cross, and follow Jesus we will not only find life, but find it more abundant than we could ever imagine.