I agree with the overall message of the passage. However, it's hard to ignore such a stark statement as:
If any man come to me and hate not his father......he cannot be my disciple.
You can look at the surrounding verses all you like, but I do not hate my father, my mother, my brethren or indeed my life. So how can I be a disciple of Christ?
Does the answer lie in the word "hate"? Do we understand it differently these days compared to how it was originally intended to be understood?
Thanks for your help/thoughts on this issue,
God Bless,
Nick