Mark 10:28-31 (NASBStr)
Peter began to say to Him, “Behold, 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 farms, for My sake and for the gospel’s sake, but that he will receive a hundred times as much now in the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions; and in the age to come, eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last, first.”
When you choose to follow someone or something you also choose to not follow or be attached to something else. When Elisha ask Elijah if he could follow him, Elisha had to first burn the ox cart and sacrifice the oxen before he could follow Elijah and God. When Peter was called he had to leave his nets. We see later, after the death of Christ, that Peter didn't actually leave his nets and boat, but rather returned to them. Unlike Elisha, he never burnt the boats. Matthew had to leave the wealth and prestige of being a tax collector (although despised by the community he was honored by the authority). So, when we read these verses we have to remember the awesome costs to following Christ. We have to literally be willing to leave those we love. Children, parents, brothers and sisters and all of our belongings. We must ask ourselves each day, "I'm I willing to let 'this' go, or am I holding onto something so dear I can't follow Him?" Do I so need the companionship, the affirmation, the security or the indulgence of something more than Christ. Jesus is telling us that we should not allow anything to come between us and our relationship with Him. Jesus actually tells us that if we leave all for Him we can be assured of more than what we leave in return. In our society we often talk about our "return on investment." Christ guarantees that we have more than a good return on our investment.
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