It seems that almost everything in life comes with a test. When you go to the doctor you may receive a series of tests to see if you are healthy. When you go to any type of school you will be tested on the knowledge that has been presented to you in class. If you want to drive a car you must be tested before you can legally have a license. With each situation there are guidelines to follow, usually a manual to read and understand, before you are tested. God’s word teaches us that love is an attribute that will also be tested. When you are married certain rules of conduct are to be followed if you want the other person to know that you love them. You do not cheat on them by giving your affections or time to someone else or something else above them. You talk things out and consider the other person above yourself. The same is true for our relationship with God. There is a test for the love that we have for Him. If you are a follower of Jesus Christ there are things that He requires for you to prove your love to Him. I call those things the test of love.
In Matthew 10:37 Jesus says “He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” In Luke 14:26 Jesus conveys the same thought, but He adds that if we do not have this kind of love that is exponentially greater than what we have for our family, we cannot be His disciple.
Luke 14:26 “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.”
The wording of these two verses teaches us the great importance of Jesus having His rightful place in our hearts. This is a requirement to be Jesus’ disciple. There should be nothing that rivals our attention and love for Jesus. In the rest of this section in Luke, Jesus explains this depth of love by using a cross, a builder, and a king going to war.
The first metaphor that Jesus uses is someone carrying a cross. This is an emblem of death. We are to die daily to our desires and submit our desires to God’s desires. This is a requirement to be Jesus’ disciple. Are you bearing his cross and following no matter how uncomfortable it is?
Luke 14:27 “And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.”
The second metaphor is a builder who did not count the cost before he began to build. He starts and gets the foundation laid but is unable to finish. No one would start a house without determining what it would cost. We need to understand that serving Christ means He is supreme in everything in our lives. When we profess Him but do not obey we are a reproach on Him. Others see our lives and they mock our faith.
Luke 14:28-30 “For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.”
The third metaphor shows a king going to war without being prepared. This king will certainly lose. This should cause us to realize we are in a spiritual battle that we cannot win if we are not prepared. Our laziness and selfish pride cause us to think we have things under control, or that God will understand our lack of preparation. Yet that is not the case when we have all the weapons we need at our disposal but refuse to use them. We must become skilled in them and take action. The word of God is a weapon! In Hebrews 4:12 we are taught that “the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” We also have the Holy Spirit that dwells within us to guide us and help us, but we must be sensitive to Him and obey.
Luke 14:31-32 “Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends an ambassador, and desires conditions of peace.”
True love, the kind of love that God requires is willing to forsake everyone and everything for Christ. Without this kind of love, we are not His disciples. That is what Luke 14:33 is trying to get us to understand. In John 14:15 it is clear that if we do not obey, we do not love Him. These are strong statements from God, but if we are sincere in our desire to please Him He will help us to grow. We will see our love develop the way God intends it to.
Luke 14:33 “So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.”
These words in Luke and John were spoken by Jesus himself. They offer us the litmus test of love. God extends grace, mercy, and forgiveness to each of us every time we sin, but we are not to cheapen that grace by living as if God will overlook our sins. He has shown His love to us, and we need to prove our love to Him. Do you pass the test of what God defines as love that is acceptable to Him?
Excellent