following

 Luke 9

23 Then (Jesus) said to the crowd,

"If any of you wants to be my follower,

     you must give up your selfish ambition,

     take up your cross daily,

     and follow me.

24 If you try to hang on to your life,

        you will lose it.

But if you give up your life for my sake,

        you will save it.

25 And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but are yourself lost or destroyed?

26 If anyone is ashamed of me and my message,

      the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he returns in his glory and in the glory of the Father and the holy angels.



There nothing in this passage indicating we will be a glittering success.

This explanation by Jesus of what it means to follow Him in no way equates that following to be synonymous with the American Dream.

It is a giving up.

It is a letting go of everything.

It is saying yes to whatever God has for us.

It is a death to self, hopes & dreams, ambitions - everything - & being & doing whatever it is He wants us to be, whenever, however, wherever, to whomever He leads us to be & do.