GIVING UP IS GAIN
28 Then Peter spoke up, “We have left everything to follow you!”
29 “Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel 30 will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.” Mark 10:28-31
Tucked away in this exchange with His disciples is another fragment of the love of God. Even though earth is not our permanent experience, God does not ignore, nor is He unfeeling about the sacrifices He calls us to make for His sake. If it is our determined purpose to be a disciple and to follow Jesus wholeheartedly, we will forgo earthly benefits. There is a different focus; our energies will be bent towards a different purpose. Selfless giving will replace selfish acquisitiveness. Time and energy will be spent on serving others rather than on self-absorption.
Jesus assured His disciples that these sacrifices do not go unnoticed. However, not only does the Father reward His children in this life, but He also builds that reward into an environment of kingdom living. The family we acquire and the material benefits we experience come in the context of God’s forever family which cannot be separated by distance or by death because they function in another dimension, the eternal kingdom of which we are already a part.
Jesus’ words were intended to shift the disciples’ focus from looking back to what they had given up to looking around at what they had gained already and looking forward to what they were yet to gain as fellow-heirs with Jesus. These were all things they had yet to learn, but their first step of response to Jesus put them on a journey with Him that was full of delightful surprises.
The Apostle Paul, under the Spirit’s inspiration, had insights into the promise of this journey. “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Corinthians 2:9). Although the greatest reward comes at the end of the journey, Jesus assured His disciples that the journey itself would not be pure drudgery. They would enjoy the benefits of God’s provision and the satisfaction of family relationships within the kingdom. Best of all, they would experience the intimate love of the Father who would cushion their every trial with His presence and grace to prepare for an abundant entrance into His eternal kingdom.