Saturday March 27th, 2021
Memorize: Luke 14:26 Contemporary English Versions (CEV)
« Jesus said: “You cannot be my disciple, unless you love me more than you love your father and mother, your wife and children, and your brothers and sisters. You cannot follow me unless you love me more than you love your own life”. »
Read: Matthew 10:35-38 New Living Translations (NLT)
35 ‘I have come to set a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.
36 Your enemies will be right in your own household!’
37 “If you love your father or mother more than you love me, you are not worthy of being mine;
or if you love your son or daughter more than me, you are not worthy of being mine.
38 If you refuse to take up your cross and follow me, you are not worthy of being mine.
Message:
« … We must obey God rather than human beings! »
Acts 5:29 NIV.
The ‘F in our equation for Resistance in the “Mathematics of Christ in You” (MCY) series that we started on March 19, stands for Family Ties.
As difficult as it sounds, if Christ is going to operate freely in you, some family ties would have to suffer, as we see in today’s memory verse.
What Jesus was saying is that your love for Him, relative to what you feel for your family, should be incomparable.
When God told Abraham to sacrifice his son who he loved, Abraham wasted no time in trying to do so.
Of course, God only wanted to find out what Abraham’s choice would be if he had to choose between Him and his son.
I once had a similar experience.
As the youngest and only male child of my mother, I had a close relationship with her. Before I met Christ, I would always spend Christmas with her.
However, after joining the Redeemed Christian Church of God and becoming a Pastor, I had to spend my Christmas instead at the Christ Redeemer’s Congress. One particular year, we were going to have the programme at Ijebu Igbo, Nigeria.
Since I would not be around during Christmas, I decided to visit my mother on December 23rd to tell her I would see her after the programme.
On getting there, I found that she was dying.
I was in a dilemma; the programme had to start in two days. I was one of the organizers yet no one in the Church knew where I had gone, and there were no mobile phones in those days.
It was a difficult choice, but I said to my mother
“You know I love you and would love to stay by your side,
but I have to go because Jesus is calling”.
Thank God for good mothers, she made it easy for me.
She said
“My son, I understand. I can already see your involvement with Jesus Christ”.
She then prayed for me.
I thought it was going to be our last conversation; it turned out to be a test by God because she lived for another eleven years.
From the report I received, even before I got to ljebu lgbo she had recovered.
God wanted to find out who I would choose if I had to make a decision between Him and my mother who I loved so much.
Nothing, not even family ties should come between you and God.
Key point: God must come first in every aspect of your life. Nothing, not even family ties should be placed before Him.
Author: Pst E. A Adeboye
Texte edited by Naomie
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