28 Peter began to tell Jesus, “Look, we have left all, and have followed you.”

29 Jesus said, “Most certainly I tell you, there is no one who has left house, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or land, for my sake, and for the sake of the Good News, 30 but he will receive one hundred times more now in this time, houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and land, with persecutions; and in the age to come eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last; and the last first.”

Mark 10:28-31 - World English Bible

In Mark 10:17-27, Jesus invited a young, rich man to follow him, but the man walked away dejected, for he could not part with his possessions and the relationships those things implied. In other words, the man could not make the Lord first in his life. Jesus' disciples were shocked when he commented, "How hard it was for the rich to enter the Kingdom!" Why did they react in that way? Simply put, the young, rich man represented a life blessed by God, a righteous person who showed the benefits of following the Law. If this man could not be saved, then who could? Jesus replied, "By themselves, no one, but with God's help, everyone."

In Mark 10:28-31, Peter was still dismayed. He said, "We've left everything to follow you." Jesus answered him with a promise of blessing (and persecution) for making the Good News one's first priority. If someone was willing to give all for the Lord, he would receive everything from the Lord (and be hated for it). The disciple had to accept the invitation Jesus gave him, like that to the young, rich man, to leave the family in order to enter the Lord's family, the Church. The assembly of believers, then, became the blessing of the hundreds of new family members. However, he added a caveat; one could not enter with the glory of wealth (the first), but with the humility of the poor (the least).

The road to the Kingdom was not what his followers imaged it to be.

What have you given up for the Kingdom? What blessings have you received for your decision?