Focus: Luke 14:26-27 - KJV
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. 27. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.
Matthew 10:34-39
When the Lord commanded Elijah to appoint Elisha as a prophet in his own stead, Elijah visited Elisha at his farming job and without telling him anything, cast his mantle upon Elisha; when this happened, Elisha asked his permission to bid his parents bye, perhaps to follow the injunction of the Lord that compels us to honor our father and mother, and thereafter, the man destroyed the bridge that would cause him to return to the farming job, and it was never recorded that he, at any other time went about looking for his parents that he bided bye. This is the example of discipleship that Christ seeks of us all. Elisha, realizing that the dropping of the mantle upon himself was a call of God, never departed from the call and the God chosen mentor at any point in time, even when it was clear that the mentor was being called home.
To be a disciple of Christ is to not love anyone or anything more than Christ. The fact about this is that, when God chooses a disciple, he is different in all material particular from every other normal being. Elisha was not like every other son of the prophet. He was quite different. A person’s parents or siblings will view things in a manner that is inimical to how the Lord has presented the same thing to His disciple. The tendency is, they will want to dissuade him from doing that which God wills because, often times, it is not humanly reasonable. Hence, a disciple that loves God more than parents and siblings would rather obey God, no matter whose ox is gored. How do you explain a man leaving his biological mother at the verge of death to attend a crusade? Some would say family before ministry is the order. Well, God’s way is “mine first”. If indeed, we are sold out to Him, then we would take care of His affairs for Him to do ours.
Beloved, it is not possible to create rivalry for God in others and still claim to be His disciple. Although it be painful to desert some acquaintances, but that is the cross to bear for true discipleship. Everything in our lives that contend for the pride of place in our lives with Christ, must be let go. Whatever we cherish that will come in between us and Christ or making the right decision of faith in God, must go, if we must be His disciples. Difficult? Yes. That is why the disciples are special. Christ stood against the tenets of the fathers and presented the truth to the world. Everyone that was not ready to let go of the old order deserted Him. However, there was a remnant that stayed. He challenged them also to go if they were not sure. Those who stayed were the true disciples. Are you willing to stay with Christ or you still think you are a disciple while dancing between His position and the doctrines of the fathers?
SOLUTION: Jesus is the way, the truth and the life: to see the father, it is by Him alone. To have eternal life, there is no other way. Purge yourself of the doctrines of the fathers that do not conform with the truth propounded by Christ, no matter the proponent thereof. Only then can you truly be Christ’s disciple.
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