Forsaking All To Follow Him

MARK 10:29-30 “And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's,
But he shall receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.”

In a discussion about riches and the peril of riches, the Lord spoke the words of our text. Peter said and he was, as the other disciples were, in a somewhat astonished state of mind, “Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee.”

Let us carefully consider our Lord’s answer and His challenge to them and to us.

He was saying that no sacrifice will go unnoticed, nor will it go unrewarded. He will more than compensate for anything we give up. We should not boast of how much it has cost us to be His followers. Our compensation is far more than we could ever expect and He says in this life, “in this time.” I don’t believe He is teaching us that He will give us a great deal of property in this life, or that He will give us large families in a literal sense. He has given us many brothers and sisters, and mothers and fathers, spiritually, and enabled us to have many spiritual sons and daughters. So, what He is saying is that He will meet all of our needs. If we give up precious things for His namesake, He will give us things more precious to replace them now in this life and more in the life to come.

Earthly blessings and heavenly rewards are in view. Who cannot say truly, “ It pays to serve Jesus, it pays every day. It pays every step of the way.” If we will consider the blessedness of the person who has forsaken the paths of unrighteousness for His namesake, we will praise His name for His goodness toward us.

In His Amazing Grace,

Pastor Ed Bowen