Forfeit

Mark 10:17-22
And as he [Jesus] was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: 'Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor you father and mother.'" And he said to him, "Teacher all these I have kept from my youth." And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "You lack one thing: go sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure I heaven, then come, follow me." Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

Despite the fact that Jesus already knew his heart, he still loved him. Jesus knew what this man's idol was--money. It's not an uncommon idol now. He commanded him, "Go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." (v. 21b)

Would I go, sell, give, come, and follow him?

Who else can I turn to? Who else is worthy? Only God is worthy--fully worthy-- of praise.

When I decided to follow Jesus, all other things are forfeited. I no longer claim the perceived right to have a comfortable, or even a good, life. Jesus says in Matthew 10:38 "And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me."

In those days if you saw a man carrying a cross, you knew, and they knew, they were going to die on that cross. It was a grim fate, one no one escaped from. You would be dragged to the edge of the city, humiliated, and crucified. Your body would be left on that cross as a testament to your crimes.

"Taking your cross" was not supposed to give us a warm, fuzzy feeling. It was not meant to be put on coffee cups and printed across t-shirts. But this was a phrase to set us in our final destination. It was a claim of death--but also a claim of eternal life.

Perhaps phrasing it another way would help you understand. Those who "took up their cross" was the same as saying, "I would rather have you torture me and kill me in the worse way possible than to deny God!" Saying you are "taking up your cross" and "following God" are not phrases to be taken lightly.

Before you claim to be a follower of Jesus, followers who must take up their cross and follow in Jesus' footsteps, ask yourself this:

Are you not only willing, but prepared to suffer and die for the Gospel?