“Truly I tell you,” Jesus said to them, “no one who has left home or wife or brothers or sisters or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age, and in the age to come eternal life.” Luke 18:29-30 (NIV) Here Jesus promises that when we make sacrifices in order to seek the kingdom of God he will give us far more than we gave up. Even in this life, we will receive peace and the Holy Spirit because we are devoted citizens of the kingdom. We also receive the blessing of friendship with others who love God and love good. We receive purpose and meaning and satisfaction. And in the next age, we will have a harmonious, corruption-free life with God and his followers forever along with eternal rewards that we have stored up. So the encouragement is to consider the sacrifices that you can make in order to fully embrace God’s kingdom and remind yourself that the sacrifices are more than worth it. We can put aside instant gratification knowing we will receive something far better, even in this life.
