No Such Thing as a Sacrifice

After seeing the rich young ruler walk away from Jesus sadly because he could not part with his goodies, Peter says, "Lord, we have given up everything." Jesus acknowledges what Peter and the other disciples have given up, but then directs his attention to what he has gained. Considering the incredible rewards of the kingdom, both in this present age and in the age to come, there is really no such thing as a sacrifice. That is, if sacrifice is defined as giving up something really good for something less. Anything that we give up to become Christ's disciple is abundantly compensated. Truly, we should never feel sorry for ourselves.