Be Still And Know

As Jesus moved towards Jerusalem and his death on the cross, he spoke increasingly about the costliness of discipleship. He did nothing at all to make following him sound glamourous and attractive. However, he also wanted to make it clear that the costly path of following him would be generously rewarded. Our generous God is no one’s debtor. Jesus’ words became literally true for those early disciples. Many of them would be rejected by their families but, as they entered the family of God, they suddenly discovered brothers and sisters wherever they went and homes were flung open to greet them. This was the apostle Paul’s experience who, in his final greetings in the letter to the Romans, spoke of the mother of Rufus as being like a mother to him (see Romans 16:13). In another place he referred to Onesimus as his son (see Philemon 10). The certainty of reward was also matched by the guarantee of persecution. Jesus saw this as inevitable. This was the experience of his own life, and he was sure that it would ch