Is It Worth It?

Is It Worth It?
By Shirley Mitchell

“Peter said to him, ‘We have left all we had to follow you!’
‘I tell you the truth,’ Jesus said to them, ‘no one who has left home or wife or brothers 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.’ ”
Luke 18:28-30

After the encounter with the rich young ruler, Peter declared that all of the disciples had done what this man could not do. They chose to leave every part of their former lives behind. They left their wives, children, businesses, security, warm beds, and cupboards of food. They left it all behind to follow Jesus and for the sake of the kingdom of God.

Jesus emphasized His words in this passage by saying, “I tell you the truth.” He wanted to make His next statement loud and clear. He told them because they had left everything that they would receive many times as much in this age, and, in the age to come, eternal life.

Anyone who chooses not to leave chooses the less-than life. She never reaches her full potential for the kingdom of God. She is settling for what is visible and not stretching for the invisible. She settles for the known and never dares to believe God for the unknown. She becomes complacent. “Complacency” means “a feeling of quiet pleasure or security, often while unaware of some potential danger, defect or the like; self-satisfaction or smug satisfaction with an existing situation, condition, etc.” I love the part about the danger lurking in the complacency. Complacency can lull us into unawareness as we are being lured into the jaws of satan.

The difference between a person who attends church and a person who is involved in the ministry of her church is commitment. Attendees are spectators from the sidelines. It is the same difference between a less-than disciple and a sold-out disciple.

There is a cost associated with following Jesus. If we will fulfill our callings, then it will cost us something, darling. Perhaps we will forfeit job opportunities, awards, treasures, physical comforts, or emotional comfort zones. They won’t be cheap. We will have to make some hard choices. We will need discernment to know which choice has eternal value. We will need fortitude to choose to be discomforted, inconvenienced, sacrificial, and stretched beyond what we alone can do. Then, we will understand the expensiveness of our callings. They are priceless. No one will ever be able to convince us that it is not worth all that we gave up. It is worth it because He is worthy.

It requires giving up the life we built in exchange for the unknown. Relinquishing and entrusting your life to Jesus is the dividing line that separates the godly men and women who have lived the great adventure from the unknown men and women who failed to even try to experience Him.

Until you relinquish “self,” you do not realize what you have to gain. Only those who have dropped their nets understand the worth of what they gained. We have to trust Jesus that He’s right, that what we leave behind is nothing compared to the greatness of following Him. Jim Elliott said, “He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” We have trusted Him with our time after we die. Let’s trust Him with our time on earth.

There is a story about monkey trappers in Africa that helps us to understand the point of not giving up the earthly life. When the tribe wanted to catch monkeys, they made a hole in the tree big enough to hold food and for the monkey to put his hand into it. However, the hole was not big enough for the monkey to pull out his hand with food in it; his fist full of food was too big. The monkey will not let go and thus is captured - no ropes, no nets for a trap. The monkey is caught by his desire and greed.

The kingdom of darkness has been using this tactic on humans for ages. We humans are too stubborn, stupid, and gluttonous to release the tasty fruit and escape the trap. When the giver of the “good” gift is not God, then the gift is bogus and a fatal trap of satan. We gain our worldly lives only to hear the words for all eternity, she was saved, but her life on earth was wasted. Our enemy can use many good traps – an excellent job opportunity, a beautiful home, or an exciting new friendship. They are not wrong because they are too good to be true. They could be wrong if the source of the gift is not God but the enemy.

Oh, my, beloved, how I desire to be like Peter and declare, “I have left all to follow You, Lord.” Nothing tantalized my eye. No one else captivated my attention. He is worth whatever you or whatever I have to give up to experience the road that few people choose. Let’s live out there on the edge with Him and not settle for ordinary lives that don’t bring Him glory.

Pray with me: Oh, Lord, we magnify Your Name. We worship You and honor You. We trust You with our lives. You are worth it. You are worth all the loss, the uncertainty, the tribulation, and even the persecution. You are worth being unsettled. Knock us out of our complacency and awaken us to be like Peter and leave all to follow You. It’s in the Name of above all names, in Jesus’ Name, Yeshua’s Name, we pray. Amen.

Excerpt from the Jesus Lives Bible study,
Copyright ©2009 Christ Compels