January 29, 2013


  • Hate in Luke 14:26 means "love less by comparison." If our love for our parents interferes with worshipping and obeying God properly, we do not genuinely love Him. Matthew 10:37 shows that Christ refers to those who place their father or mother above God in obedience and reverence; this is idolatry. The time may come when it is no longer necessary or right for us to obey our parents. Even so, we should never cease to honor them. Honor indicates a high respect for their worth, high esteem, and reverence. Without this, we cannot properly revere God. Just as our parents corrected us, so also God corrects us. As a result we honor and respect our parents, which is a shadow of our subjection to the Father.

     Martin G. Collins

    The word "hate" is not an absolute term but a relative one. He is establishing a comparison: "You have to love Me more than mother, father, wife, children, brother, sister." We have to put Christ first; we have to love Him more than the others. Recall what He said to Peter after His resurrection. What was the first question? "Do you love [agape] Me more than these?" Who were the "these"? It was very likely the other disciples who were with Him. "Do you love Me more than your friends?"

    What Christ said to Peter He is also saying to us! The standard is exactly the same. Though we may not have the responsibility of feeding the sheep, Christ must still be our first concern in life, and God expects us not only to be concerned, but to love Him with deep, family affection.

     John W. Ritenbaugh


    Luke 10:27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

    Jesus Christ has always placed an emphasis in loving our Father God with all our hearts, souls, strengths and minds. I believe if we do, we will learn to love others the way Jesus Christ loves them; which would include our family, relatives, friends and even strangers. In order for us to understand what kind of love He gives us, we have to focus in knowing God through Christ. God said to worship Him in Spirit and in Truth. He did not say to worship the images that look like Him. We are the images of God. There are many wooden images, stone images, paintings and so on and so forth that people idolize. Because of this, they lose touch of the reality that God is not in those images.

    There are people that idolize famous people that proves God is not with them. There are people that idolize their dogs, cats and just about any animals that help them forget that they are lonely people in need of God's love. Most people today have wrong ideas in which to give their worship. Jesus said if you are that, then you are not His. You can say you are a Christian, you believe in God, but if you are still showing no fruits that develop by listening to the teachings of the Holy Spirit of God, through His Word, then you are not truly followers of Christ. You are not TRUE Christians, in the true sense of the word.

     

    21“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ 23Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

    The Wise and Foolish Builders

    24“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”  Matthew 7