“Then Peter spoke up, ‘We have left everything to follow you!’ ‘Truly I tell you,’ 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 will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.’” (Mark 10:28-31)
In Mark 10:28–31 Jesus affirmed that those who give up much in this life for him and for the sake of the gospel will receive a great reward both in this life and in the future. Though not without persecution, as Jesus points out, the ultimate bonus is eternal life in the age to come. While the world prioritizes establishing security, prosperity, and self-fulfillment in this life, serving leaders give up their right to all these things to serve their Audience of One. In doing so, they receive something even greater, though it is often achieved through difficulty. Hardship refines one’s character and produces a joy that cannot be compared to temporal happiness. Relationships formed with those one serves are more rewarding than blood ties where contention and selfishness abounds. Those who give up everything for something greater than themselves discover that the first will be last and the last, first.
KEY QUESTIONS: What are my priorities? How does seeking to serve one’s Audience of One differ from seeking rewards? How might a preoccupation with the latter prevent the former? What hardships have I endured that produced eternal joy in contrast to experiences that only yielded temporal happiness?
