When the disciples heard Jesus, they
were captivated by what He said about stripping oneself of excessive concern in
wealth and riches. Each of them must have felt that they had truly left
everything behind to follow Jesus. And to be sure they all did. So confidently,
Peter exclaimed to the Lord, “Behold, we have left everything and followed You.” We can sense
a tinge of pride in what he said. Verses 29-31 show the response of the Lord to
Peter’s exclamation, “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.”
At first glance over these verses, we
may get the impression that we must give away everything in order to follow
Jesus. Man had interpreted it that way. So down through the history of the
Christian faith, many well-meaning believers were seen to have taken vows of
poverty to be in line with these instructions. At least this was what they
thought so. But were they doing what the Lord had said? The answer is no. Many
who were the first to give up everything to follow Him turned out to be last.
In many cases, not a single bit of spirituality was found in them. The key,
therefore, is this: Jesus was not talking about external things. He was
referring to one’s mindset and attitude toward possession. Every serious
believer must come to his possession with the mindset that whatever things God
has given me are not to be hoarded. They must be invested and used to expand
the work of Him who had given me. We are not owners, we are stewards of the
possessions entrusted to us. Eventually we will have to give an account of our
responsibility. With this attitude, we won’t be upset when what we have are
taken from us and given to another. For to begin with, they were not ours.
Furthermore, when we have this
attitude, we will discover that we can never out-do God. He will multiply
whatever we have invested in for Him, more than a hundred-fold. We open your
homes for the advancement of God’s cause, we will soon find a hundred doors to
homes and more being opened up to us. We will find that we have more
friendships and relationships as close as with brothers and sisters, mothers,
fathers, and children. We find we have more opening up to us, more than we can
ever conceive. But of course alongside all these would come the trials as
well. But they are there only to develop
us and prepare us for the ultimate life in eternity.
We must live for the Lord with this
kind of mentality. Hold the things of this world with a gentle grasp. Be ready
to let go if need be. Know that God had granted us everything not for
self-aggrandizement but to advance His purpose.
Bear in mind that we will be called to account for all that we are
holding in trust for Him. For in that day, many whom we consider had not given
up much could be those who will be richly rewarded. And the reverse could also
be true. Many who seemingly had sacrificed much and whom many thought would be
first may end up in the last chair. For Christ’s sake, adopt a right view of
life and possession!
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