The Reward of Faithfulness
"Behold, we have left all!"
Luke 18:28-30
The Bible Text (Luke 18:28-30)
And Peter said, “Behold, we have left our own homes, and followed You.” And He said to them, “Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who shall not receive many times as much at this time and in the age to come, eternal life” (Luke 18:28-30, NASB).
The disciples immediately responded by stating their thinking about their own circumstances. “Hey, we did that!” That is, they gave up temporal things in order to seek for eternal ones. At least, that is what they thought. Peter, the bold one, states what they all were thinking.
In this case, we see on the one hand the reward of the disciples for their sacrifices. God will reward them as it here says. But we do need to be careful, for the disciples are caught int he middle of their dream as they state these things.
They pride themselves that they are not as the others but that they are faithful followers of Christ. The truth is, that in not too long they would betray Jesus–every last one. Jesus is trying to wake His disciples up from their great dream that Jesus will be great and they will be well cared for. It is this kind of dream here that kept the truth away from them.
• What did Peter state that the disciples had done (Luke 18:28)?
• How does Jesus answer him in Luke 18:29-30?
• God is not obligated to bless His people but He chooses to (Luke 17:10). How does Jesus encourage them?
• What might Jesus mean by “at this time and in the age to come, eternal life?”
“Who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who shall not receive many times as much at this time and in the age to come” (Luke 18:29).
• What have you left behind in order to gain?
• What is the most difficult to leave behind? This very thing serves as your greatest opportunity to show the Lord who loves Him the most!
The disciples no doubt would win the reward through what they have given up. God promises this evidently not on their behavior. They certainly did not deserve this.
On the other hand, we must remember that their boasting on how they have been doing so well had become a thorn in their flesh. Is it not possible that they thought of themselves much better than others who had not given up much?
Nothing brings trouble quicker than a touch of pride.
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