Usually you have to ask to be an initiate many times before you are accepted. The practice of persistent asking gives you a chance to reconsider, to pull out, or to explore other avenues before you enter into a relationship so profoundly eternal. It's correct to infer that if you spurn the Master, you are spurning the Lord who sustains both the Master and your own soul, the divinity abiding within you.
Nothing is more serious.
No cancer or broken back can ever as deeply affect the fulfillment of your whole being as much as an initiate's spurning of the Master. They were speaking from their higher consciousness. They knew the significance of abiding in the love and instruction of the Master. So, persistent asking enables each candidate who is considering being initiated to think about the matter very deeply and seriously. Perhaps, at your present point of advancement, you may decide it's best not to seek entrance into so sacred and important a relationship.