When Christ is manifested, people must take their stand either for Him or against Him. There may be natural claims and natural affections; but they must not come in when Christ is in question. " Let the dead bury their dead," is then the word; and "he that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me."
I must be either on the side of Christ or Satan; there is no neutral ground. As Joshua said, " Art thou for us, or for our adversaries?" In the contests of Canaan there could be only for and against. So we have spiritual enemies to contend with; and Joshua leading the people on in conflict, is a figure of the Spirit's leading the soul against our spiritual enemies. In this conflict, whosoever is not with me must be against me. I must be acting either with Christ and the Holy Spirit, or else with the world and the devil.
Christ has become the center of all God's thoughts, and of all that God owns, and we have consequently to judge our hearts in detail as to whether He is in everything our center and aim. We may be occupied even in gathering Christians together; yet if it is not Christ in our own spirit it is but scattering. If Christ be not the center it is not God's gathering, but man's scattering; for God knows no center of union but the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ then must be the object; Christ the center; and nothing but Christ the end; for whatever is not gathering round that center, and for that center, and from that center, is only scattering.