Luke-Bear your cross

Luke 14:25  And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them,
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.  

We are told to love God first. How is it we are to hate those closest to us?  

Mat 22:37  Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Mat 22:38  This is the first and great commandment.
Mat 22:39  And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

What about our self? Do we not love our self?  

Eph 5:28  So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.
Eph 5:29  For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:
Eph 5:30  For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.

This is speaking of our flesh life. Jesus requires more of a disciple than a flesh life. We are to die to our flesh and our old nature. We cannot put people of flesh ahead of our Lord. IF, we will be his disciple, we must hate the life in the flesh in comparison to our Love for Jesus. We are to die to our flesh will.  

Rom 14:7  For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself.
Rom 14:8  For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's.

Luke 14:27  And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.  

To be a disciple requires discipline. Are we willing to give our life for him? Are we fit to be his disciple? Let us not say we are not to love one another, but rather, that he is most important to us. Jesus never wants us to hate people. This was as a comparison for our love and devotion to him.  

Giving all to Jesus and being his disciple will result in our life changing to reflect his characterand image to others. We are to love one another.  

 John 13:35  By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.