The cost

Jesus rarely told people to give away everything, but in this case he did. For everyone there is a ‘cost’ to following Jesus. There is the cost to be willing to fly his flag in a hostile world. There is what may seem to be a cost of giving up things that we know to be wrong. Whatever ‘the cost’, it is nothing compared to what it cost Jesus to make ‘eternal life’ (v.29) possible for you. And it is nothing compared to the cost of not following Jesus. The rich young ruler missed out on so much. Furthermore, it is nothing compared to what you receive: ‘And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life’ (v.29). Jesus promises that for everything you give up, you will receive far more – in this life and, even more significantly, into eternity with Jesus.