FROM THE SERVANT GENERAL
OUR THEME FOR 2022
(Part 8)
GIVING UP ALL FOR GOD
March 1, 2022
Today’s gospel: Mark 10:28-31
Like Peter we ought to be able to say to Jesus, “We have given up everything and followed you.” (v.28). Not in the way of the first apostles who actually gave up family and livelihood. Not in the way of the call of the rich young man, to sell all and then follow Jesus. But in the way that we have offered Jesus our whole lives, to be lived only for and in him.
In doing so, we have opened ourselves up to blessings beyond bounds. As Jesus told his disciples, “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” (v.29-30a).
We have spent less time with our families in order to serve other families, but what the Lord gave us are so many more brothers and sisters in Christ, who have become even closer to us than our blood relatives. We have left our homes for mission, but what the Lord gave us are many homes throughout the world that are freely offered for our use. We have left our respective lands, but what the Lord gave us are intimate experiences of other lands, with their wonderful people, food, sceneries, ways and cultures.
We would never have experienced these bountiful blessings if we had not followed Jesus and given him our all. But not only are there these wonderful blessings on earth, but we are assured of “eternal life in the age to come.” (v.30c). We are blessed beyond the bounds of earth!
There is more. Wedged in between the earthly blessings and the heavenly blessing is “persecutions.” (v.30b). If we follow Jesus wholeheartedly, if we give him our all, if we serve in his Kingdom, then we can expect to be opposed, oppressed and persecuted. But that too is a blessing! It is the way to really follow in the footsteps of Jesus all the way to the cross! To be persecuted for the sake of righteousness will be our honor and privilege.
Indeed, “many that are first will be last, and the last will be first.” (v.31). Those who preserve their lives will lose it, but those who lose their lives for Christ will preserve it to life eternal. Those who give up family and homes and lands will gain many more families, homes and lands. Those who suffer for the sake of Christ and the gospel, perhaps counted the least of all in this world, will enter into eternal life in the world to come.
