Costly Surrender: The Wisest Investment

Have you ever watched someone walk away from Jesus?

In Matthew 19, a rich young ruler comes to Jesus eager and earnest, asking what he must do to inherit eternal life. But when Jesus invites him to sell his possessions and follow Him, the young man turns and walks away. Surrender felt too costly.

Peter is standing there watching this unfold. And then he asks something I think a lot of us have felt but rarely say out loud: "Jesus, we have left everything to follow you. What then will there be for us?"

This isn't pride. It's real faith trying to understand the cost.

Two Men Who Saw the Treasure

Earlier in Matthew's gospel, Jesus tells two short parables back-to-back that shed light on this moment.

In Matthew 13, He describes a man who discovers treasure hidden in a field. The man doesn't hesitate—he goes and sells everything he has to buy that field. Then Jesus tells of a merchant searching for fine pearls who finds one of extraordinary value. He, too, sells everything he owns to possess it.

What strikes me about both of these men is their joy. They aren't gritting their teeth through some painful sacrifice. They've seen something so valuable that letting go of everything else feels like the obvious choice. The treasure reframes the cost.

One Man Who Didn't

The rich young ruler had the same opportunity. Jesus was standing right in front of him, offering him the pearl of great price. But he couldn't see it. All he could see was what he'd be giving up.

He walked away sorrowful, Matthew tells us—not because following Jesus wasn't worth it, but because he perceived the cost without perceiving the treasure.

This is the tragedy of his story. It's not that the price was too high. It's that he never saw what he was being offered.

Counting the Cost

In Luke 14, Jesus tells another parable—this time about a man who begins building a tower but can't finish it because he didn't first sit down and count the cost. People pass by and mock him: "This man began to build and wasn't able to finish."

Jesus is clear that following Him costs something real. He never minimizes that. He actually invites us to count the cost honestly before we commit.

But here's what I think we often miss: counting the cost isn't just about tallying up what we'll lose. It's about weighing what we give against what we gain. The man in the parable failed not because he counted the cost, but because he didn't count the reward. He started building without understanding what he was building toward.

The men who found the treasure and the pearl counted the cost, too. They knew exactly what they were selling. But they also knew what they were buying—and the exchange made perfect sense.

The Question Beneath Peter's Question

When Peter says, "We've left everything," he's naming reality. He had walked away from his fishing business, stepped into uncertainty, and reordered his entire life around following Jesus. And underneath his words is a simple, honest question: Is it going to be worth it?

Jesus doesn't dismiss the sacrifice. He acknowledges it clearly—homes, family, livelihood, security. Following Him costs something real.

But then He gives Peter a remarkably specific answer:

"Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life." (Matthew 19:28-29)

This is Jesus giving Peter definite assurance of what he will gain by his choice to "buy the field" at the expense of all he has. No vague promises, no spiritual platitudes—thrones, authority, a hundredfold return, eternal life. Peter's investment has a definite heavenly return.

And Peter would need this promise. On Earth, his surrender would cost him everything. Tradition tells us he was crucified by the Jewish leadership and the Romans upside down, asking to be inverted because he felt unworthy to die in the same manner as his Lord. By the world's measure, Peter's investment looked like a total loss.

But Jesus had already told him the end of the story. Peter didn't die as a failed investor who miscalculated the cost. He died as a man who had seen the treasure, counted the cost, and knew exactly what was waiting for him on the other side.

Is This Worth It?

Peter's question is one many of us still carry: Is this worth it?

The answer depends on what we see. If all we see is what we're giving up, surrender will always feel like loss. But if we see what we're gaining—if we catch even a glimpse of the treasure hidden in the field, the pearl of great price—then selling everything becomes the most obvious decision we'll ever make.

Jesus doesn't deny the cost of surrender, but He reminds us that cost is never the end of the story. What is released in faith is not lost. It is held by God and saved for reward in eternity.

The invitation isn't to force surrender, but to trust the One who receives it. To see what He's offering clearly enough that letting go becomes an act of joy.

Because in the Kingdom of God, costly surrender is the wisest investment of all.