"What if my family disapproves?"
"Everyone who has left... for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold." — Matthew 19:29
For many people, the hardest part of following Jesus is not believing — it's what believing might cost at home. Maybe your family holds a different faith, or none at all. Maybe you can already picture the hurt look, the tense conversation, the fear of being seen as turning your back on those who raised you. If that fear is real for you, it deserves to be taken seriously, not brushed aside — and Jesus never pretends the cost is nothing. But He also promises that He is worth it, that He gives more than we leave, and that He walks with us through the hard conversations. Let's hold this honestly and tenderly together.
Jesus is honest about the cost — and worth it
Jesus never hid that following Him can strain even our closest ties. He said plainly that the gospel can divide a household (Matthew 10:34-37), and that loving Him must come first — even before family. That sounds severe until you see what He's actually saying: not that family doesn't matter, but that He must be your foundation, because only He can hold what family alone cannot. And in the same breath He makes a staggering promise: "everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother... for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold" (Matthew 19:29). He counts the cost with you, and then He tells you the truth — He is worth more than anything He may ask you to risk, and He will not be in your debt.
Honor your family — let them see Jesus in you
Following Jesus does not mean dishonoring your parents — in fact, it calls you to love them better. "Honor your father and your mother" remains God's command (Exodus 20:12), and the most persuasive sermon you can preach at home is a changed life. "Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father" (Matthew 5:16). So don't lead with arguments; lead with love. Be more patient, more honest, more helpful, quicker to forgive than before. Speak about your faith gently, when asked, without condemning theirs. Scripture even tells believers their conduct may win family "without a word" (1 Peter 3:1, 2). You may not change a single mind this year — but you can make Jesus believable by the way you love the very people who disapprove.
He gives you a new, wider family
One of the tenderest promises Jesus makes to those who pay a price at home is this: you will not be left without a family. When told His mother and brothers were outside, He looked at His followers and said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother" (Mark 3:34, 35). In Christ you are adopted into the household of God (Ephesians 2:19), gaining brothers and sisters who will pray for you, stand with you, and love you through whatever comes. This is exactly what the family at CBA Orlando is for. If you feel alone in your faith at home, you are not alone in the world — there are people ready to walk beside you, to be family to you, starting today.
You don't have to carry this alone
However your family responds — open arms, hard silence, or anything in between — Jesus walks into it with you. He understands rejection from His own; "he came to his own, and his own people did not receive him" (John 1:11), and even His relatives once doubted Him (John 7:5). He is not a stranger to your particular ache. So pray for your family more than you argue with them, and trust them into God's hands — He loves them more than you do, and He is patient. Keep loving and keep praying; many who first disapproved later came to faith through a believer's quiet, steady love. And whatever the cost, He has promised, "I will never leave you nor forsake you" (Hebrews 13:5). You will never face the disapproval alone.
Search the Scriptures
Matt. 19:29; Matt. 10:34-37; Exod. 20:12; Matt. 5:16; 1 Peter 3:1, 2; Mark 3:34, 35; Eph. 2:19; John 1:11; John 7:5; Heb. 13:5.
Reflect
It's right to love your family, and right to long for their blessing — that ache is not a lack of faith; it's the heart of someone who loves well. But don't let the fear of their disapproval be the thing that keeps you from the One who is calling you. You can honor them and still follow Jesus; you can love them deeply and still belong first to Him. He sees the cost, He will give you more than it, and He will walk every hard conversation with you. When you're ready, you don't have to take the step toward baptism alone — a new family is waiting to stand beside you, and so is He.
He counts the cost with you