Being a disciple of Jesus feels like it should be a "no brainer," right? Why wouldn't we follow Him? After all, He is The Way, The Truth and the Life, and the only way to The Kingdom!
We know this and understand this intellectually, but when it comes to our hearts and it comes to putting this into practice we stumble and stumble hard!
Following Jesus requires sacrifice. It means putting Him before everyone and everything! It means doing things that are hard because they are right! It means having to suffer and go through many trials!
If someone asked me if I wanted to go to Heaven, I would say "heck yeah." If someone asked me if I wanted to suffer, struggle, have to leave behind some family and friends, sacrifice, what would I say? This does not sound quite as appealing. The problem is, in order to reach the Kingdom, we have to go through these other things as well.
I guess the big question we must ask ourselves, is it worth the cost? Is it worth losing friends and family, experiencing deep struggle, denying yourself of temporary earthly pleasures in order to reach The Kingdom? Is it worth giving up everything we know in this world in order to have the hope and promises of the next?
We must give up our lives. We must give everything we do, say, desire to God. We must be willing to sacrifice and do the hard things because they are true and they are right. We must stop trying to please man and only worry about pleasing God. What good is it to have all the pleasures this world has, all the riches of this world, all the friends in this world, if in the end, it is the end! None of those things or people can go with us when we die.
What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? Or what can one give in exchange for his life?
Matthew 16:26 (NABRE)
How many people have you met that are coming to the end of their earthly life and they seemed to have it all. They were wealthy and seemed to have many friends (they may or may not have, but it seemed that way). They spent their life working hard to make money or maybe they spent too much time climbing their way to the top of their business or some other endeavor? When it comes down to it, was it worth it? Were the temporary pleasures worth the cost? Were the relationships that God meant for them to have worth missing out on? Was the abundant life that God has promised to those who love and follow Him worth missing? Is the eternal reward of Heaven worth passing up?
We all must make a choice. We all must look at ourselves and make a decision. Are the challenges and sacrifices worth the eternal reward? If it is, what are you doing with your life? Are you following God, are you obeying Him and his call for you? Are you following His Truth or are you falling into the truth the world wants you to believe? Are you loving and seeing people through God's eyes, or are you looking at them the way the world wants you to? It is time to put up or shut up! It is time to walk our walk and stop talking so much! It is time to put our faith into action!
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