“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.”
Luke 14:25-27
Dearly beloved
I trust that my letter finds you in good health and that it is well with your soul.
We’ve been spending the last few months on a brilliant topic: Jesus – For all people to hear about Him and for all people to see more of Him.
We’ve already covered so many amazing facets of our theme and I would like to encourage you to visit our sermons page if you’ve missed a Sunday and to go and listen to the message for the day. I also encourage you to share and forward our messages to people you know will benefit from them.
Coming back to our journey so far. It’s noticeable how God is drawing each one of us closer and closer to His heart. Whether you’re currently in a training program or on a personal journey of your own, everyone is experiencing a drawing towards God to not only know Him, but to in an ever greater way, love Him more than anyone or anything else that is in our lives.
It is written in Luke 14:25-27 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.”
We all know that God says we should love people so what does He mean by this scripture? I believe it’s this. If our love towards God has grown to the highest of all our commitments, then in comparison to others and myself, it will seem as if I were hating myself and others. Friends, unless we can break a heart bond with everyone, you and I cannot make a complete heart bond with Christ. Jesus says in Mark 12:29-30 to love God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind and with all our strength. So, if we’re to love God with all our hearts, how much is left in our hearts to love people or someone more than Him? God wants all of our hearts all of our and lives!!
If I look back at my own life I can recall at certain times where God required from me my life, my wife and my children. At first it was so hard to give them to God. Oh my word I struggled to let them go. I remember how God asked me one day at one of our leaders meetings what I’ll do if He decides to take Denise home to Him, away from me. I told God that I will not let her go, that if He takes Denise away from me I will quit ministry and everything I live for. Oh my, it was a long day and a long night and eventually in the early morning hours I surrendered and said: “ It’s ok God, I give her to you”. I remember how I woke her up the next morning and said, “Honey, if God wants to have you or wants to take you home to Him, I will be ok with that.” Whatever it takes, I love Him more than anything else in my life. Friend, that is not easy for any of us to do.
I often struggled to give my loved ones or for that matter anything important to me to God. To be able to say, “Lord I trust you with them,” is not easy, but eventually when we surrender and we choose to love God more than any of them, then our hearts are His. Friends, remember how Abraham had to go and offer Isaac? How God waited until he drew the knife and then said, “STOP!!! You don’t have to kill your son, now I know that you fear Me,that you love Me!! (Gen 22:12)
Remarkable, even in loving God more than anything else, my love for my wife and children grew to a greater extent and their love for me too, but my love for God has been the highest commitment I have ever made and it will remain as is until I meet my Saviour face to face one day. How about you? Will people hear and see that you and I love God more than anyone or anything else in this life? Come to think about it, it’s a condition of our hearts isn’t it?
The day we do that, we move over from just believing into becoming a consecrated disciple of our Lord Jesus Christ, someone who is sold out for the purposes of His kingdom.
Friends, it’s all about Jesus … for all to hear and for all to see. How much easier it will be if we love Him more than anything else in this world, yes even our own lives.
God bless you and enjoy this amazing season. Surely God is at work in all of us to His glory.
Be blessed.
Roland and Denise Engel