Jesus Christ
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20. What do these words of Jesus “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) mean? |
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They mean
that the love toward Jesus must be so intense and great that the love toward
one’s parents, one’s wife, one’s brothers and sisters, and even toward one’s
life, compared with the love toward Jesus, should seem hatred. Therefore, a
disciple of Christ, who is worthy to be called ‘a disciple of Christ’ will
never try to put the love toward his parents or his wife or his brothers and
sisters or his own life before the love toward Christ. He prefers to die
rather than displease Christ and deny Him. Of course, a disciple of Christ
loves his parents, his wife, his brothers and sisters, his children and
himself, but not more than Christ. For he knows that if he loved his parents,
his wife, his brothers and sisters, his children and even himself more than
Christ, he would not be worthy of Jesus, as it is written: “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” (Matthew |