TEST OF TRUE DISCIPLESHIP.
By A. J. Osborne
If any man come to Me, and hate not [love not less] his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he can not be My disciple.” Luke 14:26. To be a disciple is to be a follower. To be a disciple of Christ is to be a follower of Christ. And to be a follower of Christ is to hear and obey His word—the truth. To obey the truth is to follow Him who said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” “He that hath My commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me.” “If a man love Me, he will keep My words.” Divine love in the human heart impels its possessor to walk in harmony with the divine will. It will lead him to love his Lord with all his being, and his fellow-creature as himself. Matt. 22:37–39. It will lead him to love his Master supremely, and others less. This is being a disciple of Christ. But if we love fellow-creatures or self more than we love the Master, we can not be His disciple. We will be a follower of the one for whom our love is greatest; and, “No man can serve two masters.” To make the Lord first in our affections will not detract from our own happiness or that of others, but will enhance it. Dear reader, in the fear of God, ask yourself this question: Am I following my friends, or my relatives, or my own selfish heart, or my Lord? Which?