DCLM Daily Manna 2025: DCLM Daily Manna 30 July 2025: Fortunes From Forfeiture
KEY VERSE:
“…There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s, But he shall receive an hundredfold…” – (Mark 10:29,30).
BIBLE READING: Mark 10:28-34 (NIV)
Then Peter spoke up, “We have left everything to follow you!”
29 “Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel 30 will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”
32 They were on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were astonished, while those who followed were afraid. Again he took the Twelve aside and told them what was going to happen to him. 33 “We are going up to Jerusalem,” he said, “and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, 34 who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise.”
Many people who achieved outstanding success had to sacrifice something precious to gain what is far more valuable. Grant Cardone, a top sales expert and author of a New York Times best-selling Be Obsessed or Be Average sacrificed his love for golf to build a 500-million-dollar real estate outfit. Before 2008, he played golf three times a week. Then, he said, “I decided to master my work and money; if my golf game or social status suffered, so be it. It’s OK to sacrifice fun today for freedom tomorrow. I sacrifice every day, doing the things I might not want to do, but doing them anyway for a better future.”
Grant’s decision and choice reflect the sacrifice Christ’s disciples are called to make to obtain more valuable and durable rewards in eternity. In today’s passage, Peter, referring to Christ’s encounter with the rich young ruler, reminds Jesus that he and the other disciples have met the condition for discipleship. They left all and followed Him; what then would be their gain? Jesus reassured them that they would be rewarded here and in heaven. However, He added a warning that although the reward would be in multiple folds, it would come with persecutions, and the first would be the last and the last first.
Christ assures us that we will be rewarded for our sacrifices, but he also corrects our misguided view of discipleship. Many, like Peter and the disciples, see it as a transaction with God, expecting returns on their investments. Instead, we should view our sacrifices as a small token of appreciation for the blessings we have received. Our focus should not be on earthly rewards or feeling entitled, but rather on gaining Christ and the eternal reward that comes with following Him.
Given that reward in God’s kingdom is not based on position, rank, or how long one has been in service but on commitment and faithfulness, disciples who set their hearts on earthly reward, expecting they would be first, are in danger of becoming last (Matthew 19:27-30,20:1-16). The bottom line is that following Christ often involves hardship and sacrifice, ultimately leading to eternal life.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: No sacrifice to the cause of God returns as a loss.
THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
2 Thessalonians 1-3
Daily Manna 30 July 2025
