MEDITATION OF THE DAY(Scripture: Mark 10:28-31)
THEME:FOLLOWING CHRIST DEMANDS OUR COMPLETE ALLEGIANCE  

‘We have left everything and followed you’ (v. 28). Peter’s statement indicated an underlying anxiety: what reward is there in being a disciple of Jesus? Immediately he was reassured that the rewards will be great in this age and greater in the age to come: in fact, being a disciple of Jesus brings eternal life – the greatest reward imaginable.

However, Jesus warns that being a disciple will involve renunciation and persecution. These trials are signs that while waiting on earth for the glorious return of our Lord we are involved in a spiritual battle, and they are tests which purify and strengthen faith.

In the Old Testament we have the example of many holy men and women who were persecuted: Moses, David, Jeremiah and Susannah among others. They bore their suffering with patience and hope. Moses chose to discard the robes of the Egyptian court and put on the Hebrew garments of his enslaved brothers and sisters. Leading them through the desert in obedience to God, he endured their murmuring for forty years, and repeatedly turned to God for strength, courage and patience. Not many of us are called to leave family and friends, but in our daily lives there are many ways we undergo sacrifice: perhaps in devoting our energies to family life above our own ambition, or caring for an elderly or sick relative, or suffering the pain of disability or sickness. Whatever our situation, as we seek to give our lives to the Lord and call upon him for comfort, help and patience, we can be sure that he sees and richly blesses everything we do to serve his kingdom.

In undergoing sacrifice Christ rewards us with all things. The more we are able to develop detachment to the things of this life the more in fact life here and now is abundant and rich. This way of life is constantly rich and fulfilling. It is open-handed in generosity and open-hearted in love. In worldly terms the disciple of Christ may appear poor, but in eternal terms he or she is rich. Or, as Jesus puts it, this person of faith may seem to be last, but within God’s perspective he or she comes first.

PRAYER:Lord, sometimes my ego gets in my way and I strive to be the first in some things. Show me the glory of allowing myself to be last. Grant me the strength of character to realize that by taking the back seat I am first in your eyes.

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