What Did You Leave To Follow Christ?

Sometimes life exposes us to situations that make us wonder if it is worth it to be Christian. I use the term to be Christian meaning someone who is a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. We look around and what we see is people devoting their lives to the pleasures of this world and supposedly having a pretty good time at it. They give the impression that they are living the life. They have plenty of money and many a free weekend to take nice vacations, drive new cars and own expensive toys whenever they want. And it makes us wonder if these could be ours if we were not Christian. The question lingers if it is worth it or if it is a mistake to give up all to follow Christ.

But why do we struggle with this notion when the Lord Jesus already explained to the crowds what it means to follow Him? He said that no one can become His disciple if they do not give up all their possessions (Luke 14:33). He explained that when we over-value what we have on earth, we will not take the time to consider the earthly sacrifices that life in the kingdom of God entails (Luke 14:15–24). St John teaches that we cannot love the things of the world and love God at the same time because the love of the Father cannot be in us when we love the world (1 John 2:15).

Followers need to be willing to do without wealth (Luke 12:13–21); need not worry about food and clothing necessary to live (Luke 12:22–30), and need to make purses that do not wear out in money and possessions (Luke 12:33). Followers must be able to release the love of possessions in their hearts and recognize that what they own has always belonged to God. Followers must agree that they are stewards commissioned to use all their resources and abilities under God’s will. But do we (followers) know what it is that we leave to follow Christ? Don’t we, even when we are committed to fully following Christ, still wonder and therefore need reassurance for this? Even Peter looked for the same assurance (Matthew 19:16-22) …

Once, a rich young man came to Jesus seeking eternal life. As always, the Lord Jesus told him to keep the commandments. The young man persisted in further asking for more and was told to go, sell his possessions, and give the money to the poor so that he would have treasure in heaven; but he could not. Alas, he went away grieving. The Lord Jesus’ comment on how hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of heaven left the disciples greatly astounded, and prompted Peter to ask the question that many have in their hearts but never dare to ask aloud,

Look, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have? (Matthew 19:27)

Like most of us, Peter wondered if the sacrifice they were making in following Christ was worth it or if it was foolish to give up everything to follow Christ. The all-knowing Christ did not rebuke Peter (neither does He rebuke us now). He knew (as He knows right now) that like Peter, all His followers need frequent assurance. The devil who was so bold as to tempt the Lord Jesus with the kingdoms and the treasures of this world sets in front of us those who appear to be enjoying the pleasures of this world and entices us to follow him and take possession of worldly things.

We must remind ourselves that to follow Christ, we must leave all for Christ, knowing that we get blessings for time and eternity, along with trials in this life. But these always come at a cost… we must leave all for Him! Does this mean that the Lord Jesus literally requires this for everyone (Matthew 19:21) or is He merely seeking that we be willing to leave all for Him? Is it enough to be willing or should there be some clear drastic changes in how we live when we follow Jesus?

What Does Leaving All to Follow Christ Mean?

1. Let go of whatever known sin that stands between you and the Lord God   

We have many things that have become gods in our lives. For the rich young ruler, the plentiful possessions (Matthew 19:22) were his idols. Unless he let them go, he could not trust in Christ for the eternal life that he was seeking. Many who profess to know Christ own this very idol of love of the things of the world. We spend our lives collecting things. We have accumulated so much stuff that we need to build bigger barns to store them in. We are blinded to the fact that in light of eternity, there is no earthly possession which will matter. Some of us cling to other known sins and neglect St. Paul’s list and warning about the deeds of the flesh (Galatians 5:19-21), and yet claim to be following Christ at the same time. When we follow Christ, we need an exclusive commitment.

2. Commit to doing whatever God wants you to do with your life.

This requires that you give the Lord God a blank cheque with your life and let Him fill in the amount He so wishes. This involves enthroning the Lord Jesus as the rightful lord of everything that you are and have. It demands that you renew the commitment at various points along the way. It expects that you yield yourself completely to Him and His will. If He wills that you go minister in the bundus, living in the city will be a misery for you. If He wills you to pastor, He will build you the church (Matthew 16:18). You only need to be willing and yield to His will, then He may grant your heart’s desire (Psalm 37:4). Sometimes He will grant your desires and other times He will change your desires to match His desires. You must seek first the Kingdom by committing to whatever God wants you to do with your life (Matthew 6:33), and give yourself fully to His cause.

You may honestly wrestle with some of His calls if following Him means forsaking family relationships (Luke 14:26). If you cannot manage your household, do you qualify to lead a church (1 Timothy 3:4)? You must find that biblical balance. There must be no abandoning of family responsibilities in the name of serving Christ. What if family relationships become your idols? Would you accept to be separated from your children and grandchildren for Christ’s sake? Would you encourage your children by example to leave all and commit to doing what God wants with your life or would you cling selfishly to them and ultimately lose far more than if you were to release them into Christ’s service? What is it that you leave to follow Christ?

3. Pursue Christ and His Cause

To follow Christ indicates daily walking in fellowship with the gracious Saviour, who so loved us that He gave Himself for us. It implies knowing the living God and having the joy of using my life for purposes of His kingdom. It intends that we focus on the joy of knowing and serving Christ, and not on the professed sacrifices that we make. Yet these are not quite sacrifices when we enjoy the relationships we have with Christ. They are way above whatever cost the sacrifices bring about. Hardly will you think about what you have given up if you do daily fellowship with Him. The pleasures of this world pale in comparison with the pleasure of knowing Christ. The so-called sacrifices of time, money and hardships that you contend with in serving Christ are nought compared with the joy of knowing Him.

And What Do You Get When You Follow Christ?

Suppose then that you truly leave all and follow Christ, what do you get? We must first understand that we cannot outgive God. Every meagre nickel and dime that we give up in this earthly life will be so abundantly rewarded that we will most certainly end up dumbfounded. Indeed, as St. Paul declares, no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him (1 Corinthians 2:9).

God’s economy considers the investing of our resources, time and talents in the eternal to be far superior to our simple fiddling with the temporal things. No matter what, the world with all its allurement remains a bad deal when compared to the kingdom of God. Whereas the former is destined to one day vanish, the latter will inherit everlasting wealth. Nonetheless, our motivation to follow Christ cannot be just for the benefits. We follow Him because He is the Messiah and our Saviour, who graciously answers our unspoken questions with the reassurance of the promised benefits (Matthew 19:28-29).

1. We Get Blessings in this World

Scripture notes that anyone who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for Christ’s sake and for the sake of the good news will receive a hundredfold of the same with trials and persecutions now in this age, and eternal life in the age to come (Mark 10:29-30). What a massive percentage return on your investment, complete with backing from the Bank of Heaven! What an offer! If you leave your house to follow Jesus, you get hundredfold homes all around the world. If you give up your family ties, you will be put into His worldwide family with brothers and sisters all over the globe. If you give sacrificially to the Lord, rest assured that to your account will be added all those things that the Gentiles seek (Matthew 6:33). Leave everything, go all out for the Lord and trust that God will take care of all your needs. Have nothing and yet possess all things (2 Corinthians 6:10).

2. We Get Blessings in Eternity

The Lord Jesus promised us eternal life, which is far better than living forever. Living in the presence of the Lord God, beholding His glory with His angels and saints, with neither sin nor suffering ruining the experience. That description in the Book of Revelation Chapter 21 depicting golden streets in a bejeweled city tells me it is far better than I can ever imagine. I just have to trust Him and believe His promises, then let go of my earthly treasures and gather my all in the heavenly basket. You will have treasure in Heaven if you forsake all to follow Him (Matthew 19:21).

3. We Get Trials and persecutions in this Life

Although Matthew’s account reveals the inheritance of thrones and seatings in judgement of the twelve tribes (Matthew 19:28), Mark’s gives reference to persecutions (Mark 10:30) and Luke reports confusion amongst the disciples when Jesus mentions His trial (Luke 18:34). If the Lord Jesus was so despised and mocked and persecuted, surely, we can expect similar treatment (John 15:20), and all who wish to live godly in Christ will not escape persecution (2 Timothy 3:12). If we have our own expectations of Christ, we will not comprehend the Lord Jesus’ words and will be confused. When we follow Christ, things may sometimes not make sense and we will be confused and disappointed. When we stake everything on one of God’s promises and our plan falls short, we don’t get it. This is time to go back to basics and trust God to take charge even though we do not understand what He is doing.

Take-home Message

There are many blessings in this world when we leave all and follow Christ, but the reward is in Heaven (1 Corinthians 15:19). We know for sure that the eternal rewards will be there. We trust the truthfulness of the promises of Christ because of His authority in saying, “Truly I tell you” (Luke 18:29) because they are a fulfilment of the prophetic Word (Luke 18:31) whose certainty assures us that history will culminate exactly as He predicts and heaven will be all that He has promised, and because He rose on the third day exactly as He predicted so that the confused and fearful disciples were suddenly transformed into confident, bold witnesses, who willingly gave their lives for the Gospel. We must be willing to leave all to follow Jesus, so that we get both blessings and trials in this life, knowing we will have the joy of eternal life with Him in the age to come.

*NB: Unless specifically stated, all Bible quotations are from the NRSVCE.