Jesus lays it out

Mark 8

34 Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, (Jesus) said, 

"If any of you wants to be my follower, 

you must turn from your selfish ways, 

take up your cross, 

and follow me.

35 If you try to hang on to your life, 

you will lose it. 

But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, 

you will save it.

36 And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?

37 Is anything worth more than your soul?

38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my message in these adulterous and sinful days, 

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



Jesus just lays it out here.

No mention of the American Dream as part of a life of discipleship.

Success is not touched on, either.

It is mentioned that if we try to hold on to the plans we have made, we will lose the whole kit & caboodle.

It is only when we let go of all that we hold dear will we find the life God dreamed for us a gajillion years ago.

And we have the classic statement of what good does it do if we become multi-billionaires but don't take care to establish a relationship with God.

This is BIG stuff - Jesus must have really rolled down their socks with these statements n- if they wore socks back then! ;-) LOL

We've become so impervious to truth & reason these days, I'm not sure we can absorb this now.

In our "anything goes" world, where truth is made out to be "fake news" & lies are trumpeted as the truth, I just don't get the feeling that the eternal truth that Jesus states here in such a straighforward manner can be listened to in a culture who now twists the truth is such bazaar & terrible ways.