Bet the Farm - Mark 10:29-31

If you’re scared to place a big bet, do you believe you have an unbeatable hand? 

In Mark chapter 10 we have the story of the Rich Young Ruler, a young man who runs up to Jesus and asks what he must do to inherit eternal life. After he is not realistic about his depraved state and says that he has kept the law, Jesus asked him to sell all his possessions and come follow him. This man rejects the personal invitation to follow Jesus because he can't walk away from his wealth which prompts an interesting conversation between Jesus and his disciples when Jesus tells them it's hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Peter, with his normal boldness, speaks for the group and reminds Jesus that they  are not like this Rich Young Ruler but have left everything to follow him.  Jesus responds with this amazing promise.

Mark 10:29-31  Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel’s sake, but that he will receive a hundred times as much now in the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions; and in the age to come, eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last, first.”

The disciples must have been thrilled to receive this response, this confirmation that their sacrifice and this life had not gone unnoticed. They had been willing to pay the price of discipleship, were willing to gamble what they had in this life for the sake of the Kingdom, banking on the word of the word who became flesh.

The Rich Young Ruler wouldn't place the bet because he didn't truly believe. Do we believe? Then why do we gamble so little if we are promised 100x reward for whatever we give up in this age? Now we're getting to the root of some serious issues where our Faith does not compute to faithfulness. We say that Jesus is our everything but give very little, as if he was the IRS trying to pry our hard-earned resources out of our hands. We say He is our everything but guard our calendar as if we are our everything.

 In five card draw poker, a player has the right to exchange cards after the first round of betting, a chance to improve their status in the game, a chance to change their odds of winning the pot of cash in the middle of the table. Our life before Christ is a terrible hand, the cards we drew were sure to fail us when all the cards were laid on the table. On Judgement day we were to be found lacking. 

But if you really exchanged your cards, really gave them in and got a new life in Christ, you received the perfect hand, the literally unbeatable hand. In poker this is called the Royal Flush. The odds of drawing a Royal Flush are 1 in 649,740, which means that most poker players will never draw one in their lifetime of playing. In Christ, this is exactly what we have: we exchange the old man for a new creation, we inherit eternal life and the deposit or guarantee of that life in the Holy Spirit.  So if these are the cards that were holding, why would we be afraid to bet everything we have?

This is the Paradox of the cowardly Christian. He is either not a Christian, does not really know Christ and thereby is not fearless and bold In his commitment to Christ, or he is the greatest fool at the poker table, having a hand that guarantees winning the pot but is still making the minimum bet, not willing to go all in for some absurd reason.  I believe the teachings of Jesus would imply that the first case is more commonly the likely story, that people who do not consistently bet on him do not actually know Him.  Those who know him are not only willing to consider everything a loss for the sake of Christ, but desire to count everything lost, rejoicing in every opportunity to sacrifice for the kingdom.

What is it about this promise that is so hard to believe? Why do we still have trouble seeking first the Kingdom, even when Jesus directly promises abundant reward and permanent prominence in the Kingdom (vs 31) for all who lay it all behind for the sake of the gospel? 

Woe to me, for with my words I believe, but my bets are small. Like the father of the suffering boy in Mark 9, I pray, ““Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”