Chapter 34
THE COST OF DISCIPLESHIP
(Matthew 10:34-39)
Before we begin our study let us pray.
Dear Heavenly Father,
We come before You in the Name of Your only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Holy Father please open our eyes, our ears and our hearts so we can see and hear and receive what You are telling us through Your Word. Help us to accept these truths and please grant us the faith and desire to follow them. It is for Your honor and glory that we ask these things.
Amen
INTRODUCTION
Let us begin our study by reading the following discourse Jesus gave to His disciples with respect to the cost of being a true disciple of His.
Matthew 10:34-39
""[34] Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. [35] For I have come to turn "'a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law-- [36] a man's enemies will be the members of his own household.' [37] "Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; [38] and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. [39] Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it."
To more accurately understand Jesus’ discourse, it must be placed within context of the whole Bible. To do this, we will examine the following facets of our life:
1. Our relationship with our family members or our loved ones.
2. Our earthly possessions.
3. Our very own lives.
With the above introduction in mind we begin with,
OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH OUR FAMILIES
To set the foundation for this portion of our study let us reread the following excerpt from Jesus' discourse.
Matthew 10:37
""[37] Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;"
In other words, Jesus is teaching us that we should love Him with all that is within us. To see this, let us read how Jesus once responded to the question of; “Which one is the greatest commandment?” To do this we go to,
Matthew 22:37-38
[37] Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ [38] This is the first and great commandment.
Does this mean that we are to abandon our families? The answer to this question is no! To see this let us explore what the Bible teaches us about the relationship we are to have with respect to our families. To do this we will examine the relationships we should have between: (1) A husband and wife and (2) Children and parents.
We begin with the,
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN A HUSBAND AND WIFE
The clearest teaching with respect to this relationship is provided in,
Ephesians 5:22-33
"[22] Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. [23] For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. [24] Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. [25] Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her [26] to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, [27] and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. [28] In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. [29] After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church-- [30] for we are members of his body. [31] "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh." [32] This is a profound mystery--but I am talking about Christ and the church. [33] However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband."
Let us notice the following verses,
22-24 … The wives within a Christian marriage are to submit to their husbands as they would to our Lord Jesus Christ.
25 … The husbands are to love their wives just a Jesus Christ loves the church. In other words, as Christ gave Himself up for His church, so it should be for the husband to give himself up for his wife.
28-29 … The husbands are to love their wives as they love their own bodies. Thus, they should feed and care for their wife.
31 … For this reason, the man is to leave his family and be united to his wife and the two will become one body.
Let us now examine the
RELATIONSHIP OF CHILDREN AND PARENTS
Perhaps the clearest teaching on this topic is provided in,
Ephesians 6:1-4
"[1] Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. [2] "Honor your father and mother"--which is the first commandment with a promise-- [3] "that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth." [4] Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord."
Let us notice the following verses,
1 … Since a child of God may belong to non-believing parents; the Holy Spirit's instruction is for them to only obey their parents in all matters that are consistent with His Word, the Bible. Thus, they are not to obey them to enter into a sinful activity.
2 … It is a commandment of God that children are to honor their father and mother.
3 … Notice that this commandment comes with the following promise; "that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth."
4 … Christian fathers are to help, encourage and train their children to be good disciples of Jesus Christ.
Even though the above relationships are our Lord's desire for His disciples, it is possible that a non-believing member(s) of our family will hate us, discredit us or want to disown us. To see this let us take a look at,
FOUR EXAMPLES OF THE POTENTIAL COST OF BEING A DISCIPLE OF JESUS CHRIST
The first example of the cost of being a true follower of God is the one of
Losing acquaintances or friends
For this example, let us read about the time when Jeremiah complained about being chosen as a prophet of God. To do this let us read from,
Jeremiah 20:7-11
"[7] O LORD, you deceived me, and I was deceived; you overpowered me and prevailed. I am ridiculed all day long; everyone mocks me. [8] Whenever I speak, I cry out proclaiming violence and destruction. So the word of the LORD has brought me insult and reproach all day long. [9] But if I say, "I will not mention him or speak any more in his name," his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot. [10] I hear many whispering, "Terror on every side! Report him! Let's report him!" All my friends are waiting for me to slip, saying, "Perhaps he will be deceived; then we will prevail over him and take our revenge on him." [11] But the LORD is with me like a mighty warrior; so my persecutors will stumble and not prevail. They will fail and be thoroughly disgraced; their dishonor will never be forgotten."
Let us notice the following verses,
7(a) … Jeremiah complained to God that He deceived him and overpowered him in order to anoint him as a prophet.
7(b)-8 …Because of Jeremiah's obedience in speaking God's Word to the Israelites he was the center of the people's insults and mockery.
9 … Jeremiah tried to stop preaching and teaching God's Message. However, because of the power of the Holy Spirit working within him, Jeremiah could not refrain from speaking God's Words. It was the same with Paul (1 Corinthians 9:16-18). In fact, we also may experience the same phenomenon.
10-11 … Instead of rejoicing that a true prophet of God came in their midst, Jeremiah’s acquaintances/friends constantly looked for an opportunity to discredit him. However, they will not prevail and will be dishonored.
Our second example is the potential cost of,
Being betrayed by non-believing brother(s) and/or sister(s)
For this example, we will read about Joseph and his brothers. Let us recall that because of the visions God gave Joseph, his brothers became very jealous of him. One day when Joseph's brothers were tending sheep in Shechem, his father, Israel, sent Joseph to see if all was well with them. With this background let us now read what happened as recorded in,
Genesis 37:13-28
"[13] and Israel said to Joseph, "As you know, your brothers are grazing the flocks near Shechem. Come, I am going to send you to them." "Very well," he replied. [14] So he said to him, "Go and see if all is well with your brothers and with the flocks, and bring word back to me." Then he sent him off from the Valley of Hebron. When Joseph arrived at Shechem, [15] a man found him wandering around in the fields and asked him, "What are you looking for?" [16] He replied, "I'm looking for my brothers. Can you tell me where they are grazing their flocks?" [17] "They have moved on from here," the man answered. "I heard them say, 'Let's go to Dothan.'" So Joseph went after his brothers and found them near Dothan. [18] But they saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him. [19] "Here comes that dreamer!" they said to each other. [20] "Come now, let's kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we'll see what comes of his dreams." [21] When Reuben heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands. "Let's not take his life," he said. [22] "Don't shed any blood. Throw him into this cistern here in the desert, but don't lay a hand on him." Reuben said this to rescue him from them and take him back to his father. [23] So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe--the richly ornamented robe he was wearing-- [24] and they took him and threw him into the cistern. Now the cistern was empty; there was no water in it. [25] As they sat down to eat their meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were loaded with spices, balm and myrrh, and they were on their way to take them down to Egypt. [26] Judah said to his brothers, "What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? [27] Come, let's sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood." His brothers agreed. [28] So when the Midianite merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern and sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt."
After many years being enslaved and imprisoned in Egypt along with several miraculous interventions, Pharaoh promoted Joseph to be second in command over the entire Egyptian empire. All of these events were to prepare for the time when God was going to send a severe famine. In his position of authority Joseph was able to save his family, the Israelites, from starvation.
It is noted we also will encounter times of difficulties. During these times let us not forget the following promise,
Romans 8:28
[28] And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
After Joseph’s father, Israel, passed away his brothers came to Joseph seeking his forgiveness for what they did to him. To read what transpired we go to,
Genesis 50:15-21
[15] When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “Perhaps Joseph will hate us, and may actually repay us for all the evil which we did to him.” [16] So they sent messengers to Joseph, saying, “Before your father died he commanded, saying, [17] ‘Thus you shall say to Joseph: “I beg you, please forgive the trespass of your brothers and their sin; for they did evil to you.”’ Now, please, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of your father.” And Joseph wept when they spoke to him. [18] Then his brothers also went and fell down before his face, and they said, “Behold, we are your servants.”[19] Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God? [20] But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive. [21] Now therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones.” And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.
The third example of the potential cost for being dedicated to God is that of being
Betrayed by an unbelieving son or daughter
After killing Ammon for the way he treated his sister Tamar, Absalom left Israel. King David loved Absalom and longed to see him. Consequently, Joab, the commander of King David's army, persuaded David to send him to bring Absalom back home. Upon hearing Joab’s plea, Absalom returned to the land of Israel. Unfortunately, it was at this time Absalom initiated a plot to overthrow his father and assume the kingship over Israel. To see what happened let us read from,
2 Samuel 15:7-18
"[7] At the end of four years, Absalom said to the king, "Let me go to Hebron and fulfill a vow I made to the LORD. [8] While your servant was living at Geshur in Aram, I made this vow: 'If the LORD takes me back to Jerusalem, I will worship the LORD in Hebron.'" [9] The king said to him, "Go in peace." So he went to Hebron. [10] Then Absalom sent secret messengers throughout the tribes of Israel to say, "As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpets, then say, 'Absalom is king in Hebron.'" [11] Two hundred men from Jerusalem had accompanied Absalom. They had been invited as guests and went quite innocently, knowing nothing about the matter. [12] While Absalom was offering sacrifices, he also sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David's counselor, to come from Giloh, his hometown. And so the conspiracy gained strength, and Absalom's following kept on increasing. [13] A messenger came and told David, "The hearts of the men of Israel are with Absalom." [14] Then David said to all his officials who were with him in Jerusalem, "Come! We must flee, or none of us will escape from Absalom. We must leave immediately, or he will move quickly to overtake us and bring ruin upon us and put the city to the sword." [15] The king's officials answered him, "Your servants are ready to do whatever our lord the king chooses." [16] The king set out, with his entire household following him; but he left ten concubines to take care of the palace. [17] So the king set out, with all the people following him, and they halted at a place some distance away. [18] All his men marched past him, along with all the Kerethites and Pelethites; and all the six hundred Gittites who had accompanied him from Gath marched before the king."
Later in 2 Samuel we read that Absalom while fighting against his father’s army was killed in battle. After Absalom was defeated King David returned to the throne and once again ruled over the nation of Israel.
The fourth and last example of the potential cost for being a true disciple of God is that of being
Betrayed or hated by one's un-believing spouse
An illustration of this cost is Delilah, the wife of Samson. In the book of Judges, chapter 16, we read that Samson married a Philistine woman named Delilah. It is noted that the Philistines did not believe in or worship the God of the Bible. Instead they worshipped and sacrificed to the false god named Dagon. Hence, Delilah was not a true follower of God Almighty.
After their marriage, Delilah was bribed or persuaded by the rulers of the Philistines to betray Samson. This is recorded in,
Judges 16:5
"[5] The rulers of the Philistines went to her and said, "See if you can lure him into showing you the secret of his great strength and how we can overpower him so we may tie him up and subdue him. Each one of us will give you eleven hundred shekels of silver.""
After several failed attempts to get Samson to reveal the secret for his strength, Samson became so vexed he finally revealed the secret to Delilah. This is recorded in,
Judges 16:16-21
"[16] With such nagging she prodded him day after day until he was tired to death. [17] So he told her everything. "No razor has ever been used on my head," he said, "because I have been a Nazirite set apart to God since birth. If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would become as weak as any other man." [18] When Delilah saw that he had told her everything, she sent word to the rulers of the Philistines, "Come back once more; he has told me everything." So the rulers of the Philistines returned with the silver in their hands. [19] Having put him to sleep on her lap, she called a man to shave off the seven braids of his hair, and so began to subdue him. And his strength left him. [20] Then she called, "Samson, the Philistines are upon you!" He awoke from his sleep and thought, "I'll go out as before and shake myself free." But he did not know that the LORD had left him. [21] Then the Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes and took him down to Gaza. Binding him with bronze shackles, they set him to grinding in the prison."
Let us notice the following verses,
16-17 … To stop Delilah's nagging, Samson finally revealed the secret to his strength.
18-19(a) … Delilah realized that this time Samson told her the truth. Thus, she called for the rulers of the Philistines and had them shave Samson's head.
19(b) … Samson's strength left him.
20-21 … Consequently, the Philistines put out Samson's eyes, bound him and took him to prison.
It is noted that later in Chapter 16 of the book of Judges we read that Samson's hair grew back along with his strength. The final feat of Samson was when God allowed him to push down the temple of the false god Dagon. In doing so all those who were worshipping Dagon met their end.
SUMMARY
What is the point? What is the issue that Jesus is addressing here? The answer to these questions can be found by rereading,
Matthew 10:34-37
""[34] Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. [35] For I have come to turn "'a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law-- [36] a man's enemies will be the members of his own household.' [37] "Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;
The second area our Lord Jesus Christ talked about with respect to the potential cost of discipleship is the potential loss of,
OUR EARTHLY POSSESSIONS
To see this we go to,
Luke 14:33
"[33] In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple."
Does this mean that our Lord Jesus Christ is telling us that as His disciples we must sell all that we have and give it all away? The answer to this question is not necessarily. To see this let us explore the following two topics: (1) Charity and (2) Confiscation of goods.
Let us begin with,
CHARITY
Specifically, as Christians we are to provide material help for the needy.
To see this, let us read from,
1 John 3:17
"[17] If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?"
In other words, if we are truly living our lives by faith in Jesus Christ, then He, through the Holy Spirit living within us, will move us to help those in need. Consequently, the New Testament provides us with,
SOME GUIDELINES TO CHRISTIAN GIVING
Since in the new covenant there are no fixed amounts or fixed percentages of income that are imposed upon the born again believer for giving, one might ask, “What does the Lord expect of us?” or perhaps put another way, “Are there any guidelines?” Actually, there are three: (1) we are to be generous, (2) offer what is in our hearts and (3) not go beyond what we can afford.
The first guideline is that,
We Are To Be Generous
To see this, let us read what the Apostle Paul instructed Timothy to say to those who were financially well off in,
1 Timothy 6:17-19
"[17] Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. [18] Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. [19] In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life."
Secondly,
We Are To Be Cheerful Givers
In other words, our giving is to be in harmony with what is within our hearts. Specifically, our giving is not to be dictated to us by law or is it to be a contest to impress others. To see this let us first read from,
2 Corinthians 9:7
"[7] Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver."
Let us notice the following:
7a … The amount we give is not a set amount or fixed percentage set by law. Instead it is to be what the Holy Spirit places within our heart.
7b … We are not to give grudgingly or out of compulsion but willingly and cheerfully, that is out of love and concern.
To see that we are not to give so as to impress others, let us read what Jesus said about our charitable deeds in His sermon on the mountain,
Matthew 6:1-4
""[1] Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. [2] "So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. [3] But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, [4] so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."
The third and last guideline is that,
Our Giving Should Not Go Beyond What We Can Afford
Finally, we find that our zeal to help the needy and help support the elders must be tempered by what we can actually afford. To see this, let us prayerfully consider the instruction that Paul gave to the church in Corinth about their wanting to help the needy in Jerusalem.
2 Corinthians 8:10-13
"[10] And here is my advice about what is best for you in this matter: Last year you were the first not only to give but also to have the desire to do so. [11] Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means. [12] For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have. [13] Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality.
Let us notice the following verses,
11 … In accordance with their means that is by what they could afford the believers in Corinth were to provide their gifts for the needy in Jerusalem.
12 … Our charitable gifts are acceptable in accordance with what we have, but not acceptable if we give beyond our means.
13 … The reason we are not to give beyond our means is twofold:
(a) As is written in this verse, we are not to give beyond our means so that in the process of our giving we ourselves do not also become needy or hard pressed.
And,
(b) We are not to deprive our families of their needs. To see this, we go to,
1 Timothy 5:7-8
"[7] Give the people these instructions, too, so that no one may be open to blame. [8] If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever."
Let us now return to 2 Corinthians and read the following verses,
2 Corinthians 8:14-15
[14] At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. Then there will be equality, [15] as it is written: "He who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little.""
To illustrate this principle of Christian giving, the Holy Spirit quoted from Exodus 16:18. In this chapter, Moses records for us how during their exodus from Egypt, every morning the people had to go out in the desert floor and gather manna (the bread that for 40 years God miraculously gave them to eat). After they gathered the manna and returned to camp, each one had an omer of manna for that day's sustenance. In other words, he who gathered much did not have too much and he who gathered little did not lack food.
To see this let us read,
Exodus 16:18
[18] So when they measured it by omers, he who gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no lack. Every man had gathered according to each one’s need.
Summary
Let us summarize this portion of our study by reviewing the following two principles:
1. These charitable acts are to be motivated by yielding ourselves to the Holy Spirit’s prompting from within us.
2. Our giving is to be generous and yet within the limits of what we can afford.
The second topic for this portion of our study is,
CONFISCATION OF OUR GOODS
The Bible also reveals to us that in remaining faithful to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ it might cost us all of our material possessions. Hence, we should be prepared or have a mind set that will enable us to graciously accept this potential loss. To see this let us read the following encouragement that the Holy Spirit gave to those who, for the sake of their faith and belief in Jesus Christ, have suffered the loss of all material things. To do this we go to,
Hebrews 10:32-39
"[32] Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you stood your ground in a great contest in the face of suffering. [33] Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. [34] You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions.
Let us notice the following verse,
34 … They joyfully accepted the confiscation of their property, that is all their material possessions. The reason they joyfully accepted this persecution was because they knew that they had better and everlasting possessions waiting for them in Heaven.
Let us now return to Chapter 10 of Hebrews and read from,
[35] So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. [36] You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. [37] For in just a very little while, "He who is coming will come and will not delay. [38] But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him." [39] But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved."
Let us notice the following verse,
39 … We are encouraged to fight the good fight of faith. In other words, the Holy Spirit is encouraging us, that no matter what circumstances we find ourselves while here on this earth, we are to remain true and firm in our love and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
The third and last area that our Lord taught us with respect to the cost of discipleship is,
OUR VERY OWN LIVES
To refresh our memories let us read from,
Matthew 10:39
"[39] Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it."
As one reflects upon this statement one might ask: "What is our Lord saying? What is He teaching us?" The answer to these questions is at least twofold.
First of all, our Lord is teaching us that to be a true born-again disciple of His we are to live our lives in such a way that He, through the Holy Spirit, will live His life through us. To see this let us read how the Apostle Paul described his walk with Christ Jesus. It is recorded for us in,
Galatians 2:20
"[20] I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."
Secondly, in reading the New Testament we also discover that by remaining faithful to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ it may cost us our earthly lives. To see this let us consider what happened to Stephen after he bore witness of Jesus Christ to the elders and teachers of the Jewish Law. To do this let read from,
Acts 7:54-60
"[54] When they heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. [55] But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. [56] "Look," he said, "I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." [57] At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, [58] dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. [59] While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." [60] Then he fell on his knees and cried out, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." When he had said this, he fell asleep."
THE POINT OR MESSAGE
What is the point? What is the issue that the Bible is addressing in this portion of our study? The answer to these questions is found in,
Luke 14:27-33
[27] And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. [28] For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it— [29] lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, [30] saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ [31] Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? [32] Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace. [33] So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.
CLOSING
With all what we have covered in mind, let us now close our study by prayerfully reading the following words of encouragement from,
Colossians 3:1-4
"[1] Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. [2] Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. [3] For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. [4] When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory."
Blessed be the Lord forever
Amen and Amen