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 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 characterise his followers’ lives as well. This may all sound very heavy and forbidding but we need to remember the words of Hebrews The ultimate reward is eternal life. Life here on earth is very brief. As James put it in his letter “your life is like the morning fog – it’s here a little while, then it’s gone” (James QUESTIONHow does the promise of eternal life affect your thinking about today?PRAYERLord Jesus, thank you for your generosity to me today and for all eternity. Amen