The Duality of Worth
“Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it. Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Whoever welcomes a prophet as a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever welcomes a righteous person as a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.”—Matthew 10:37–42 (NIV)
Standing in a store, have you ever asked yourself, “Is this purchase worth the price tag? In today’s passage, Jesus talks about worth in two different ways.
First, the price tag of following Him. What is the true dollar amount cost of following Jesus? According to Matthew 8, Mark 8, Luke 14, and here in Matthew 10:38, the cost is your life.
“Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me.”
When a criminal carried his cross through the streets, his life was over. Here, Jesus is calling us to think of ourselves as having died to ourselves—to bury all of our worldly desires and dreams and all of the plans and agendas we’ve made for ourselves. Why? Because our new life is not about us, it’s all about living for Him, in Him, and by Him. The directive is proclaiming our need to be willing to surrender anything and everything in order to be His disciples.
This is why He says:
“Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.”
This is what I meant by Jesus talking about worth in two ways. The first worth statement was the price/cost for us to be His disciples, which again is our lives. But the second worth statement being made by Jesus is that those who aren’t willing to pay that price aren’t worthy of being His disciples.
I know it sounds harsh, but consider two things . . .
- Jesus is God. Colossians 1:16–17 (NIV) says, “In him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, . . . all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” Everything we are and have comes from Him. He’s worthy to be first and foremost in our lives. He deserves all the praise, honor, and glory. We should love Him above anything and everything, anyone and everyone. We owe Him our lives and thus our lives are the only price we can pay to be His.
- What did Jesus come here to earth to do for us? He came to give His life for us! You see, Jesus loves us so much that He considered the cost of our redemption worth paying. He died for us.