There has always been, and will always be, a cost to following Jesus. Jesus himself said in Luke 9:23 that in order to follow him, you must take up your cross daily – think about that: take up your instrument of death, be willing to die – John 15:18-21, Jesus said that “people will hate you because of me”, and that if he was persecuted, you will be persecuted, too – 2 Timothy 3:12, Paul says that EVERYONE who lives this life will be persecuted – what is your current cost of following Jesus? In light of today’s passage, we need new resolve that following Jesus is worth it, because it will not get easier, only increasingly difficult – There will be a day when it will become infinitely more difficult to follow him, so it’s really a gut check.

God is all powerful and faithful to pay back evil in full. Just like the martyrs, we want justice, we want evil to be destroyed, and goodness to be restored in the world – and I love how God responds: “Wear this robe of honor. I esteem you for your faithfulness and follwership. Now sit back and watch what I will do.” While the world is spiraling out of control, and evil continues to seemingly gain ground, God has not been rendered impotent – in fact, Paul put it best in Romans 12:17-21 – while our nature is to seek vindication, the call of Jesus is to seek peace – he will right all wrongs, he will eradicate evil, he will pour out wrath, and he will restore all things to himself – AND, you want to be on the right side of this relationship. This is the gospel: Jesus is in FULL CONTROL, and his invitation is to join him in restoring the world, giving your life, even to the death, and leave vindication to him.