“Truly I tell you,” Jesus said to them, “no one who has left home or wife or brothers or sisters or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age, and in the age to come eternal life.”
Well this sounds like a good deal. Even though we may sacrifice for this “kingdom of God,” we will receive much more in return. Who wouldn’t do that if they knew this to be true?
But herein lies the problem. We don’t really know it to be true – or don’t believe it. As we meditate on what it means to really follow God – to live by and fight for the ways of Jesus – it would be wise to think through the costs and benefits. Here’s the truth, if you believe the words of Jesus in the Bible: it will cost you everything.
Yet here is the paradox of living the Way: you’ll also gain more than you can imagine. Yes, Jesus demands our everything. Our complete selling out to his way of living and loving. And this means a certain kind of “death” to ourselves. But it is through dying, and only through dying, that resurrection is possible. That truly new life is possible. That gaining more than we had is possible. When the old dies, it makes room for a new kind of new – the best new.
So today I ask, “What things in me need to die? What do I need to crucify so that I can live more fully in the ways of Jesus?”
I ask because I believe the promise of the fullest of lives comes only on the other side of the cross. My own, and, thanks be to God, the ultimate cross of salvation in Jesus. So I lay it down willingly, knowing it costs me everything, but will result in finding the life that is truly life.
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Joel
Joel Searby
“‘Radical togetherness’ is not just a nice idea for John Kingston, it has been a life long pursuit. In strikingly insightful ways, John offers a profound and practical path forward amidst the death and despair so many Americans are experiencing. American Awakening is for such a time as this!”
— Rev. Dr. Ray Hammond, M.D., M.A.
