A HUNDRED-FOLD by Obadiah Oldschool

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, Cal. · Feb 3, 1887

A HUNDRED-FOLD.

By Obadiah Oldschool

In my Bible reading, the other day, I came to these verses in the gospel according to Mark:—

"And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's, but he shall receive a hundred-fold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life."

I had read that passage often. I knew what the commentators said about it. But I stopped and thought. Why does Jesus declare so emphatically that we are to have here, "in this time," a hundred-fold of the very things that we surrender for his sake? The declaration is specific. If I give up my house he promises me a hundred houses. If I give up my brothers, he promises me a hundred times as many brothers in their place, etc. I dare not say that this is a strong but general statement of the facts that following Christ will promote our present happiness, no matter what sacrifices of worldly good it involves. That is true, but if that was all, why repeat the words, "houses, brethren, sisters, mothers, children, and lands"? Our Saviour never spoke at random. He always meant all that his words convey.

Pondering the passage, I concluded to test its literal accuracy in the case of the apostle whose words (see verse 28) suggested the statement. Peter, we are told, forsook all and followed Jesus. What did Peter forsake? His home in Capernaum, his boat, and his business as a fisherman. He became a friendless wanderer with the Man who had not where to lay his head. But what was the result? A few years later we find Peter welcomed at the house of Mary, the mother of Mark, in Jerusalem. We find him an honored guest in the house of Simon, the tanner, at Joppa, and in that of Cornelius, the centurion, in Cæsarea. He was the spiritual father of thousands all over Galilee and Judea, and hundreds of homes were his by the holiest and best of titles—his because those who occupied them were glad to entertain and to serve him. And since his death, how many churches and cathedrals have been named for him! Christ did not promise the hundred-fold during the life of his followers, but "in this time." The reward is cumulative as the ages roll on. Who would have heard of Peter, the fisherman, if he had not forsaken all and followed Jesus? But because he did, and thus became a "fisher of men," he is one of the most widely-known and honored of the race.

Take a modern instance,—John Wesley. He was a homeless wanderer during nearly all of his long and laborious life. Yet no man in Great Britain had so many homes. Wherever he went there were Wesleyans who opened their doors and their hearts to welcome him. Long before he died he was the father of the largest family in the land. He was rich in the filial love of tens of thousands who were enrolled in classes and conferences as his spiritual children. . . .

No men on earth are so rich in friends as those who have forsaken all human kindred and severed all human ties for the sake of Christ. God loves them; Christ loves them; all the good people on earth love them; the angels in Heaven love them. They are happy now in the knowledge that since they belong to Christ, the King of kings, all things are theirs; and that he who is Lord of the world will make all things work together for their good. . . .

If, then, God rewards so bountifully those who make sacrifices for his sake, why are not all Christians happy? The answer is easy—they don't forsake anybody or anything to follow Christ. They stumble after him, carrying all of the world that they can in their arms. They want the rewards of the service without its toil and self-denial—the harvest without sowing the seed. No wonder they are disappointed. But yet it is as true now as in apostolic times that for all cheerful, loving sacrifices in his cause, Christ will repay us a hundred-fold, even in this present time. If we do not live to reap all the blessed results, they will be the priceless heritage of our children. —Obadiah Oldschool, in Interior.