Leaving Everything Behind

nets

Peter began to say to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you.” Mark 10:28

Peter left his nets and followed Jesus. Now it seems Peter is questioning that decision a little when confronted with the news from Jesus that it is impossible for anyone to enter the kingdom of God on their own. “Then what are we doing here?” seems to be the connotation from Peter here.

But Jesus assures Peter (and us who follow him),  “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life” (Mark 10:29-30).

Following Jesus means leaving everything behind, but following Jesus also means remembering that we will receive a hundred times more than we left behind because of Christ. There is a very human grief that often takes place when we say good-bye to our previous way of living only for ourselves in order to live only for Christ. That grief may pop up now and then when doubt and fear creep in, as they did here with Peter. But with Christ the reward will always be greater than any sacrifice that we may have made to follow him. There’s no looking back anymore when we follow Jesus. We only move forward. Eternal life in heaven awaits us, which can never compare to anything we will ever leave behind on this earth.

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