BS97: Blessings (and persecution) Mark 10:29-30
Mark 10:29-30
29 “I tell you the truth,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel 30 will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life.”
I think the interesting thing about this verse is that Jesus says “in this present age” which to me implies, in our lifetime, whilst we are still on earth, not just when we go to heaven. That God will give back the things we sacrifice for him not just as rewards in heaven, but whilst we are still on the earth. Not only that, he will give them back with lots of interest!! We are often taught that we won’t necessarily be given back what we have sacrificed whilst we are here on earth, but does this verse suggest that we will, even if it’s not the exact same things as we give up? (as well as being given eternal life) Interesting…!
I find this a challenging verse to take hold of!! Note the little (but very important) comment in the brackets “and with them, persecutions..” You what?!?!
Why would we be given persecutions with our blessings? Why would God give us back more than what we have given up, only to then allow us to be persecuted?? What’s that all about?! I don’t know the answers, but here are some of my ponderings…
I think Jesus wanted to warn people that being a follower of Him meant that times were going to be tough, that we were not in for an easy ride. He also wasn’t going to want people to follow him because they thought were going to get wealth and prosperity by giving up what they had at that time, in order to get more in the future!! Ever since Jesus came, Christians have been persecuted, poor John the Baptist got his head chopped off, Jesus was (of course) crucified and all the other disciples were persecuted and many ended up being killed because of their faith. In many countries today people still suffer greatly for following Jesus, yet through the suffering they have a greater faith and see God move in power so much more.
Here we have it pretty easy. We might get laughed at a little or at the worst we might get in trouble for wearing a cross to work, but when you look at what the disciples went through it’s really not much to write home about. Yet when we do step out and be counted as followers of Christ, it is likely that the more “different” we are, the more persecutions we will have to face, and yet I believe, the more “blessings” God will give us as we sacrifice our pride, our popularity, our comfort, our finances, our time and perhaps even our friends or family who turn against us because they just can’t understand why we are Christians.
Perhaps when we give up things for God, He then blesses us with more because he knows he can trust us with it? Yet at the same time this is a test of our faith as we need to remain in Him, leaning on Him for everything and acknowledging openly that it is God who’s blessed us with everything we’ve got. We must not allow ourselves to become proud or lovers of the blessings rather than the Blessor! We can’t fall into the trap of believing that we’ve earned what we’ve got and have a right to the things that we own, or to popularity or our comforts. They are not a “right” they are a blessing. We always need to remember this and to stand firm and be faithful to God, continuing to Praise Him and acknowledge Him no matter what people say about us or do to us!
In all things, whether it’s a time of sacrifice, or a time of blessing, there will always be decisions which end up as a choice between God & “my….” (fill in the blank; pride, rights, money, comfort, family, reputation, feelings.. etc etc). The only way we can stay on track, whether in need or in plenty, is to keep our focus on Jesus at all times. Then whatever persecution (or blessing!!) comes our way, we will be able to stand firm and remain faithful and thankful to God!
Tags: Blessings, Mark, Persecution