Those who wholeheartedly follow the teachings of Jesus Christ are called His disciples.
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. And whosoever does not bear his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple … whosoever that forsakes not all that he has he cannot be my disciple.
[Luke 14:26-27&33]
Jesus is using a figure of speech here called a hyperbole. It makes the cost of discipleship sound ludicrously extreme but Jesus was not saying here that our relationships with others are not important. In fact He stressed how important they were.
A new commandment I give unto you, That you love one another as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this shall all men know that you are my disciples if you have love one to another.
[John 13:34-35]
He was just making the somewhat obvious point absolutely clear that our relationship with God is far more important than these other relationships. We should also not be emotionally bonded to our possessions. Our identity comes only from our relationship to God and not by being proud of what we own. So we need to put God first before other relationships, ambitions and possessions and turn from and hate all our past selfish unloving attitudes and behaviour.
To become a disciple of Jesus we need to respond to the same invitation that was made at the end of the very first preaching of the New Testament gospel message.
Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission (forgiveness) of sins and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is unto you and to your children and to all that are afar off … [Acts 2:38-39]
There is an emptiness within us all that only the Holy Spirit can fill. Before the disciples received the Holy Spirit Jesus said this about Him:
If ye love me keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father and he shall give you another Comforter that He may abide with you forever. Even the Spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive, because it sees Him not, neither knows Him, but you know Him for He dwells with you and shall be in you.
[John 14:15-17]
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