I have five very special people in my life who call me Auntie because their Ugandan family is so close to me, rather than being related biologically. Three of them are attending school in the US on full scholarships. Unlike some who emigrate, they don’t think of their opportunities to study here as a right but as a gift from God through people working in the education field and others who help them financially. They will, at some point, though, most likely start expecting certain things solely because they live in the US. “America—the land of freedom and opportunity! The land where everyone’s rights are respected! The land where the son of a shiftless drunkard can grit his teeth and say, ‘I’m going to be rich and famous some day!’ Here in America we pride ourselves on the fact that everyone has the right to live his own life as he pleases—provided, that is, that he does not infringe upon the rights of someone else.” (1) Mabel Williamson’s book, “Have We No Rights,” is specifically for missionaries, so I read it before I left for Africa about twenty-five years ago. But I still consult it to remind myself of the enormous difference between America’s view of our rights and Jesus’s call to put them aside, not to be yoked or hitched to them, pulled away from him. He said, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:29-30) We have to learn from Jesus to know how we are to reconcile our deeply ingrained expectation of inherent rights and our devotion to him. I strongly disagree with the idea that “An inherent right is something that you are entitled to just because you exist. It can’t be taken away or given up, like the right to own property or the right to be free…These rights are often seen as fundamental and cannot be taken away or transferred.” (2) Anyone who has given up their right to own property or be free (in a social context) understands what I am saying. Christian martyrs give up everything for Christ. We’re not all called to be martyrs. Still, Jesus Christ does call us to live yoked to him, renouncing worldly possessions and securities, sometimes even our biological family members, to share in Christ’s eternal glory. We need to examine our earthly attachments, lessen our dependence on them, and rehearse the gospel to yoke ourselves to Christ more affectionately and consistently.
Leaving Homes and Families
“Jesus said, ‘Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.” (Mark 10:29-30) When Jesus said this, he meant that we “shall receive an hundred fold now in this time…Not that [Christ’s disciple] should have an hundred houses, brethren, but that [we] should enjoy that even in this present life, which was an hundred times better than any of the things mentioned namely, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands; it is added here, with persecutions. ‘With persecution’—signifying that this must be expected amidst the greatest happiness, and highest enjoyments of this life; though often even that which the saints enjoy, whilst they are, in the severest manner, persecuted for Christ, is an hundred times better than, yea, infinitely above, all that they part with, or lose for his sake…so that they will be doubly recompensed; once in this life, and again in the other world. (3) This is a bit clearer in Luke’s gospel record. “And he said to them, ‘Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life…So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.’” (Luke 18:29-30; Luke 14:33) Jesus. We talk about being devoted to God, but will we lessen our dependence on worldly attachments to live the gospel, yoked to Christ more intentionally?
The Call to Discipleship
“The call to discipleship demands that one completely abandon the natural desire to seek comfort, fame, or power, and even the instinct to preserve one’s own life at all costs. The Messiah’s route of rejection and suffering blazes the trail for those who follow.” (4) “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Matthew 10:37-39) “A true disciple of Christ is one that does follow him in duty, and shall follow him to glory. He [or she] is one that walks in the same way Christ walked in, is led by his Spirit, and treads in his steps, whithersoever he goes…If anyone will have the name and credit of a disciple, let [them] follow Christ in the work and duty of a disciple. If all worldly things are worthless when compared with the life of the body, how forcible the same argument with respect to the soul and its state of never-ending happiness or misery! Thousands lose their souls for the most trifling gain, or the most worthless indulgence, nay, often from mere sloth and negligence…Let us then learn rightly to value our souls, and Christ as the only Savior of them.” (5)
Paul’s concern for the Philippians is that they continue to mature in their faith. “Paul explains what spiritual progress will look like. Christian maturity does not come through special mystical insights available to only a few, but rather through the patient practice of the familiar virtues of love and service to others…But the supreme model for progress in faith is Jesus himself, and the centerpiece of Philippians is the magnificent “hymn of Christ” in 2:5–11. Jesus willingly let go of the privileges of divine glory to take up the form of a servant, and even embraced the ultimate humiliation of the cross, in order to liberate the world from sin…Those who follow Christ’s example have the hope that God will also vindicate them on the day of Christ, and thus they can rejoice. They can also be confident that God will not leave them alone to make their way through the world as best they can. Spiritual progress involves effort: they are encouraged to ‘work out [their] own salvation with fear and trembling’ (2:12). But they can do so knowing that ‘it is God who works in [them], both to will and to work for his good pleasure’ (2:13).”(6) “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have attained.” (Philippians 3:12-15) We will mature if we examine our worldly attachments, lessen our dependence on them, and yoke ourselves to Christ more affectionately and consistently, as Paul did. “Paul stresses that he is not already perfect–he is still involved in the struggles of life in a fallen world and hence he still sins; the full glory of the resurrection remains in the future…There is a balance of faith and works, of God’s call and the believer’s response…Paul’s life is purposeful, for he constantly aims toward a heavenly goal. The prize is the fullness of blessings and rewards in the age to come, most especially being in perfect fellowship with Christ forever…Paul is saying, in effect, ‘If you are really perfect/mature, you will realize you are not yet perfect/mature!’” (7) Have we no rights? What did Jesus do with his inherent rights? He died to them all for us.
Related Scripture: Mark 8:34; Luke 9:23; 18:28; John 8:12; 12:25-26; Romans 8:28; Philippians 3:7; 1 Timothy 6:12, 19; Hebrews 6:1; 11:40.
Notes:
1. Williamson, Mabel, “Have We No Rights?” Chapter 1, https://www.gutenberg.org/files/24528/24528-h/24528-h.htm#Page_33
2. Inherent Rights Definitions, LSD Law, https://www.lsd.law/define/inherent-right
3. Gill, John, John Gill’s Exposition on the Whole Bible, Mark 10:29-30, https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/geb/mark-10.html
4. The Reformation Study Bible, Matthew 16:24, Reformation Trust Publishing (Ligonier Ministries), Sanford, Fl., 2015.
5. Henry, Matthew, Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary on the Bible, Matthew 16:24-28, https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/mhn/matthew-16.html
6. English Standard Version Study Bible Notes, Philippians 4:11-13, Intro, (digital edition), Crossway, 2008.
7. ESV Study Bible Notes, Philippians 3:12-15, Ibid.
October 3, 2024
Divine Wisdom for Daily Living by Joanne Colvin 