II Corinthians 4:5-7
"For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, Who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us."
March 13th
"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." Luke 14:26
When our blessed Lord instructs us in the tactics of RETURN TO GOD, He REVERSES the order for man's conduct: THAT in your life which you find as a grief, a trial and displeasure, HOIST IT TO YOUR SHOULDER AND BEAR IT WITH CHEER! Your family which through "desire" you have brought into being; those whom to you are like LIFE itself – must all be renounced, taking second place to your desire to reenter your Father's heavenly home! Your father, mother, brethren, and kindred must all be downscaled in your estimation to the end that your blessed Lord becomes THE ONE CONSUMING PASSION! Even the very things you possess, yes, to the physical life itself, must become contemptuous in your sight: Jesus your Savior – your one and only treasure!
Mistakenly, VERY MISTAKENLY, many Christians love their own children and/or people far too much; so much that God gets 2nd or 3rd place at the best. When life becomes founded in the children (or people), we lose our sense of proportion; our orientation is amiss. Even if such a life is reasonably free from "sin," our orientation and our "drive" are "off God's beam." HE wants us to PLACE FIRST THINGS FIRST. THAT is the core of His FIRST COMMANDMENT. The "First" is God, while its corollary becomes HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS!
Discipleship (a Sermonette) (continued tomorrow...)