If we are intent upon leading the most comfortable life possible, we are acting contrary to Jesus' command that we should lose our lives and deny ourselves. Jesus says that He only recognizes as His disciples and followers those who follow this command (Luke 14: 26). Yes, if we are lazy and slack, if our longing for comfort and convenience prevents us from doing our work for Jesus well and we do not fight against it, these serious words of Scripture apply to us: "Cursed is he who does the work of the Lord with slackness" (Jer. 48: 10). Do we realize what it means to be cursed by God, whose whole heart yearns to bless? And do we see what judgment slackness and softness will bring us in eternity as well?
If we do not want to come under this curse, whose terrible consequences will be revealed in eternity, we have to renounce all softness, all laziness in our lives; we have to declare war on it. Jesus' cutting words, "Whoever of you does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14: 33) also applies to our work for Jesus. If we cannot give up our demands for comfort, for much free time and rest, for better pay, they will make it impossible for us to use our time and energy for Jesus. If a soldier were laden with many items for his personal comfort, he could never go to war. Nor can we ever become soldiers for Jesus Christ, or true disciples, if we do this. And quite aside from this, softness and laziness open the door to many other sins which really make us unfit for service.
So we have to let Jesus' words pierce our hearts, learn to abhor our softness and love of comfort and in faith renounce what would make us unfit to serve Jesus properly. That means, for instance, giving up our desire for special comforts, for the most beautiful home, for the best interior decorating and for the food that we especially enjoy. Keeping Jesus in mind, whom we want to follow, we must repent and take a new path, for example if we have let our family or others serve us more than necessary, or if we have avoided difficult work and in these ways have left the path of Jesus. Jesus tells us, "I am among you as one who serves" (Luke 22: 27). This shows us Jesus' true glory. Yet the "disciple is not above his teacher". The sign that we are really disciples of Jesus is that we renounce our softness, not legalistically, but out of love for Him. This love will draw us along His way of denial.
When we serve others, not asking for anything special or unnecessary, and not expecting any comfort, we are not only on Jesus' way, we are actually bound to Him. That is why, in spite of all the sacrifice, it is not a difficult way. It makes us one with Jesus who is pure love and tender care and at the same time the almighty Lord. What should we be afraid of? He cares for us in great love and fulfils His promise, "He who loses his life"-that is, who loses whatever he thinks he needs in life-"for my sake will find it" (Matt. 10: 39). By following Him, we receive everything we need through His blessing, loving care and almighty power. Yes, we find that the Father in heaven cares for His children and gives them an abundance of earthly goods for their nourishment, clothing and shelter.
Since Jesus left His life, should not we also be able to leave what makes life worthwhile for us? Scripture says that He had the power to lay down His life (John 10: 18). Yes, if we can give up our lives and our demands, we will have great power and authority.
Jesus wants to give this power to His own. It is the greatest power; it is greater than the power to work miracles. How do we get it? Through faith! Through faith the fortresses and strongholds of our hearts will fall, even the stronghold of wanting to keep our life with all its demands for comfort.
This battle of faith against softness is more important than ever before, because we are now approaching "hard times", times when we will be persecuted for His name's sake. Now we must conquer all softness and laziness in the power of Jesus' redemption, so that they will not be our downfall in the hour of temptation. It was not by chance that Peter changed from disciple to betrayer while he was warming himself by the fire.
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Copyrighted material. Taken from YOU WILL NEVER BE THE SAME by M Basilea Schlink and used by permission. Further information at: www.kanaan.org
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Basilea Schlink (1904 – 2001)
She was used of the Lord to help found the Evangelical Sisterhood of Mary. The Lord has used her writings powerfully to help encourage the greater body of Christ of future sufferings for the Lord and how to endure them. Also one of the burdens of her ministry was to share in the sufferings of the Lord and share the sorrow that Jesus has for a lost world and a backslidden church."In heaven we will say, ‘Do you remember the time we celebrated a festival of heaven on earth with Mother Basilea?'" - Corrie ten Boom. "To visit one of the Kanaan sanctuaries that they have assembled around the world is to visit a taste of the kingdom on earth." - Greg Gordon
Recommends these books by Basilea Schlink:
My All for Him: Fall in Love With Jesus All over Again by Basilea Schlink
You Will Never Be the Same by Basilea Schlink
Ruled by the Spirit by Basilea Schlink
Basilea Schlink, born Klara Schlink was a German religious leader and writer. She was leader of the Evangelical Sisterhood of Mary, which she cofounded, from 1947 to 2001.
Some years later Schlink was living in a badly bombed Germany with few resources, but it was important for her to repent for Germany's cruel treatment of other nations during the war, especially the Jews. She felt the temptation to marry like other young women did. Instead she gave her mission the first priority, and so she became a Sister of Mary.
On March 30, 1947, she and Erika Madauss founded The Evangelical Sisterhood of Mary in Darmstadt. In 1948 both the founders and the first seven sisters became nuns. From then on, Dr. Klara Schlink called herself Mutter Basilea and Erika Madaus called herself Mutter Martyria. Today, The Evangelical Sisterhood of Mary has 11 subdivisons all over the world, with in total 209 sisters, and about 130 of these are situated in Darmstadt.
Klara Schlink, religious leader and writer: born Darmstadt, Germany 21 October 1904; leader, Evangelical Sisterhood of Mary 1947-2001, taking the name Mother Basilea; died Darmstadt 21 March 2001.
Basiliea Schlink was the co-founder and spiritual leader for half a century of the Evangelical Sisterhood of Mary, a community dedicated to a Christian literature and radio ministry. She was herself a prolific writer, her devotional books, pamphlets and hymns being translated into more than 60 languages.
The Sisterhood of Mary, initially Lutheran but now interdenominational, numbers more than 200 women from 20 countries, with 14 men in the affiliated Canaan Franciscan Brothers. It has branched out from its centre in Germany, at Darmstadt near Frankfurt, to Australia, Israel and the United States, and has one community at Radlett in Hertfordshire. The Sisterhood publishes tracts in 90 languages and distributes them on all five continents, while its radio and television programmes are broadcast in 23 languages.
Perhaps Mother Basilea's most noted contribution to religious life was her work for reconciliation between Germans and Jews. As a young woman she had learnt with horror of the Nazi extermination of the Jewish communities of her homeland and much of Europe, and dedicated her life to seeking forgiveness and overcoming the legacy of this mutual bitterness.
As national president of the Women's Division of the German Student Christian Movement from 1933 to 1935, Schlink refused to comply with Nazi edicts barring Jewish Christians from meetings.
It was not until March 1947 that Schlink and Madauss were eventually able to fulfil their vision of establishing the Sisterhood.