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In Luke 14:25-33 we find that the Lord places some high standards on those that would follow after Him and be His disciples. Jesus had just finished a parable in which the master of the house had decided to have a great supper and invited many to come, but one by one the people that were asked to come had excuses for why they could not come. One had just married a wife, one had some land that they had to and one had some oxen that they had to break in so that the man of the house instructed the servants to go and gather those from the highways and byways to and to bring them into the feast. He then says that how if a person wants to come after Him and be His disciple, they must love Him and seek Him so much that it would appear that (in comparison) he hates his family.
Harry Bethel claims that there are not God-ordained pastors because:
A God-sent pastor would have met all three conditions in order to be a disciple according to Luke 14, one of which is to literally forsake all that he has to become a learner (disciple) on this higher level like all the disciples and many of the early Christians (Luke 14:26-27, 33; 18:22, 28; Acts 2:45, 4:34-35).
I assume that he’s implying that none of the current pastors do this. And yet I wonder how many he’s talked to and knows. I know of many pastors, including the one that I have at my local church, that have left their homes and families to minister in places that are hours and days away from home. I know of pastors that have sought after God and ministering to God’s people so that it looked like they cared for God’s people more than their own family! I know of Pastors that take up their cross daily.
But this is more than a pastor thing! We are all commanded to do this, and I’m sure that as we continue on our path of progressive sanctification we’ll get better at it! I know of many missionaries that have left family to serve Christ– even to die for Christ. I know of people that have left unsaved families to go to Christian institutions for learning.
Indeed, we need to be reminded of this mindset, but I find it hard to believe that a Pastor cannot or does not have this characteristic. And the challenge for us that are not pastors is that we should have this as well.
This is that whole “dying to self” and “living for Christ” thing. HOw many times do we let ourselves get too many irons in the fire to actually be “free” to serve when and how God wants us to?
This “busyness” could be activity related, or money related. A lot of Christians are becoming wise to the fact that if they try to “keep up with the Joneses” they’re not going to have the financial freedom to help God’s people in need. We need to learn true contentment in God, not in people and/or things.
I wonder what Paul would have said if He had read Mr Bethel… Especially in the context of His letters to Timothy…