Mark 10:28-31
Peter began to say to Jesus,
‘We have given up everything and followed you.”
Jesus said, “Amen, I say to you,
there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters
or mother or father or children or lands
for my sake and for the sake of the Gospel
who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age:
houses and brothers and sisters
and mothers and children and lands,
with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come.
But many that are first will be last, and the last will be first.”
‘We have given up everything and followed you.”
Jesus said, “Amen, I say to you,
there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters
or mother or father or children or lands
for my sake and for the sake of the Gospel
who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age:
houses and brothers and sisters
and mothers and children and lands,
with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come.
But many that are first will be last, and the last will be first.”
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The rewards of giving up something of significance for Christ's sake and for the sake of the Gospel are great indeed.
In God's economy, though, there is a difference between giving up something because HE asks us to, versus giving something up because WE want to. The "giving up" needs to be for Christ, because he asks. Not to get the hundredfold gifts mentioned above. Not to prove how much you can suffer. Not for some side benefit, like losing weight. It needs to be out of love and trust and reverence to Christ. If there's any other reason, he'll know.
For OUR sake, Christ was crucified. He didn't do this to get some type of reward from God, or be recognized. He did it because the Father asked Him to.
That's what he did for us. What are we willing to do for Him?
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