Key Passage
Peter said to Jesus, “We left everything to follow you!” Jesus said, “I tell you the truth. Every person that has left his home, brothers, sisters, mother, father, children, or farm for me and for the Good News will get a hundred times more than he left. Here in this world that person will get more homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and farms. And with those things, that person will have persecutions. But he will also have a reward in the world that is coming. That reward is life forever.”
— Mark 10:28-30 ERV (Read Full Text)
Key Thought
Jesus is basically promising three things in this Scripture. First, he is saying that the disciples—and we who follow Jesus today—can’t out give God. God will bless them and us far more than we could ever give up for him. Second, that doesn’t mean that followers of Jesus will have easy lives on this side of eternity—there will be persecutions. Finally, he promises eternal life. In other words, their sacrifices for their faith will be far overshadowed by the blessings they will receive from their Father in heaven.
Prayer
O Father, thank you for being so generous. I know that I will be blessed far more than I can imagine as one of your children. Help me not to lose that hope in the face of hardship, discouragement, and persecution. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
Related Scriptures
We have sufferings now. But the sufferings we have now are nothing compared to the great glory that will be given to us. Everything that God made is waiting with excitement for the time when God will show the world who his children are. The whole world wants very much for that to happen. Everything God made was changed to be like it was worth nothing. It did not want to change, but God decided to change it. But there was this hope: That everything God made would be made free from ruin (decay). There was hope that everything God made would have the freedom and glory that belong to God’s children.
We know that everything God made has been waiting until now in pain like a woman ready to give birth to a child. Not only the world, but we also have been waiting with pain inside us. We have the Spirit as the first part of God’s promise. So we are waiting for God to finish making us his own children. I mean we are waiting for our bodies to be made free. We were saved, and we have this hope. If we can see what we are waiting for, then that is not really hope. People don’t hope for something they already have. But we are hoping for something that we don’t have yet. We are waiting for it patiently.
— Romans 8:18-25
In your lives you must think and act like Christ Jesus. Christ himself was like God in everything. Christ was equal with God. But Christ did not think that being equal with God was something that he must keep. He gave up his place with God and agreed to be like a servant. He was born to be a man and became like a servant. And when he was living as a man, he humbled himself by being fully obedient to God. He obeyed even when that caused him to die. And he died on a cross. Christ obeyed God, so God raised Christ to the most important place. God made the name of Christ greater than every other name. God did this because he wants every person to bow for the name of Jesus. Every person in heaven, on the earth, and under the earth will bow. Every person will confess (say), “Jesus Christ is Lord (Master).” When they say this, it will bring glory to God the Father.
— Philippians 2:5-11
God is fair. God will remember all the work you have done. And God will remember that you showed your love to him by helping his people. And God will remember that you continue to help his people.
— Hebrews 6:10
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