Peter began to say to him, "See, we have left everything and followed you." Jesus said, "Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life." Mark 10:28-30
This little interchange between Peter and Jesus is enlightening, encouraging, and eye-opening. The context of the this statement involves the one man whom Jesus invited to be a disciple only to see the invitation refused: The Rich Young Ruler. Jesus knew the heart of the man. He saw the earnestness in his appeal for eternal life. But the man's wealth got in his way. Jesus made a point of reminding the disciples around Him of the cost of following Him, which prompted Peter's comment.
Jesus' reply to Peter is full of promise and pain. The pain comes in the cost of leaving behind one's relationships, possessions, and comfortability for the sake of Jesus and the gospel. It comes with persecution as Jesus promises here. But it comes with its own reward, both in this life and in the age to come. Jesus tempers the temperal promises of what might come to one in this life with the reality of persecution. Who would want a lot of houses and family responsibility and possession knowing all of it could be threatened by persecution? The point is that persecution causes one to hold none of these too closely. Instead, the focus is on the value of Christ and the glory coming in the future when eternal life is our experience.
The cost of discipleship is high. The rewards of discipleship are many. Somewhere, between the two realities is where we live our lives.
Peter began to say to him, "See, we have left everything and followed you." Jesus said, "Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life." Mark 10:28-30
This little interchange between Peter and Jesus is enlightening, encouraging, and eye-opening. The context of the this statement involves the one man whom Jesus invited to be a disciple only to see the invitation refused: The Rich Young Ruler. Jesus knew the heart of the man. He saw the earnestness in his appeal for eternal life. But the man's wealth got in his way. Jesus made a point of reminding the disciples around Him of the cost of following Him, which prompted Peter's comment.
Jesus' reply to Peter is full of promise and pain. The pain comes in the cost of leaving behind one's relationships, possessions, and comfortability for the sake of Jesus and the gospel. It comes with persecution as Jesus promises here. But it comes with its own reward, both in this life and in the age to come. Jesus tempers the temperal promises of what might come to one in this life with the reality of persecution. Who would want a lot of houses and family responsibility and possession knowing all of it could be threatened by persecution? The point is that persecution causes one to hold none of these too closely. Instead, the focus is on the value of Christ and the glory coming in the future when eternal life is our experience.
The cost of discipleship is high. The rewards of discipleship are many. Somewhere, between the two realities is where we live our lives.
