Is Jesus Enough?

“And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?” Mark 8:36 

I remember many years ago mulling over the sermon while driving home from church. The pastor asked a pointed question that morning. I was not sure at the time if I really knew the answer. I knew what the answer was supposed to be. I just wasn’t sure what my answer was. The question was this: “If Jesus was all you had, would Jesus be enough?”

The correct, religious answer would be, “Yes, of course He would.” But I was thinking through the reality of the question. What if I actually lost every earthly possession? My car, my home, my clothes, my pets, my belongings? And what if I lost all my relationships? My husband, my mother, my brothers, my friends? What then? If Jesus was all I had, would Jesus be enough?

In a conversation with his disciples, Peter tells Jesus, “We’ve given up everything to follow you.” Then he asks, “What will we get?” (Matthew 19:27). You gotta love Peter. He always says what everyone else is thinking. Peter boldly asks, “What’s in it for us, Jesus?” I think Jesus’ answer might have surprised Peter just a bit. 

“Everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or property, for my sake, will receive a hundred times as much in return and will inherit eternal life,” Jesus replied. 

I don’t think Jesus is actually calling us to give up our family members (or to give up on them). We all know that people can’t be replaced. He is using exaggeration to make a point. If you choose people and things over Him, if you consider them more important than He is, then you have gained nothing. But If you lay those things down for His sake, you will gain them back many times over, plus you will inherit eternal life.

So what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? You benefit nothing whatsoever. In fact, you lose everything. Choose Jesus because Jesus is enough.