Series 1 - Lesson 4 - Annotation 11
What is meant by forsaking all for Christ's sake?
11. "So therefore whosoever he be of you that renounceth not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple." -- Luke 14:33. In the King James Authorized Version of the Bible, the word "forsaketh" is used instead of "renounceth." Renounce means to "give up, abandon, or resign." Forsake means to renounce something dear to one, to quit or leave entirely; to desert.
We must remember that when Jesus Christ spoke these words, He spoke from the consciousness of the Christ, I AM, and He meant that each one of us who would be a disciple (follower) must give up all in consciousness that is likely to interfere with our living the Christ life, expressing the Christ Spirit, manifesting the Christ nature and character.
If we are to become the Christ in expression and manifestation, we must forsake all error thoughts (false beliefs), inharmonious feelings that we have about ourselves, God, and man; we must renounce all consciousness that would in the least degree deny the archetypal spiritual pattern for universal man, Jesus Christ. Man must withdraw his attention from the without and center it within his own being, and through affirmations begin to consciously see his body as spiritual substance manifesting the perfect body-idea. Man's body will then be the perfect vehicle for God consciousness or Christ consciousness.
I AM is God's name for Himself; His acknowledgment of Himself as Being. I AM is the identity of God as Creator and Cause of all that is.
I AM is man's name for himself; his acknowledgment of himself as a spiritual being. I AM is the perfect Law of man's being. I AM is the identity of man as a co-worker with God in sustaining all that God creates and makes as His visible and invisible presence in creation. Man acknowledges his identity as the Son of God by his use of I AM in connection with his thoughts, feelings, words, actions and reactions.
By forsaking all for Christ's sake, man loses nothing, but gains everything. True unity with God, man, and all good is thus realized and proved as a continuous and continual demonstration.
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Preceding Entry: What was Jesus' mission on earth?
Following Entry: Explain the meaning of "spiritual gift."
