Requirement #3: Forsake All That You Have

“So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:33).

To forsake means to surrender your claim to; to say goodbye to.

Until I recognize that everything I have belongs to Jesus Christ, I am not His disciple. Consider Jesus’ encounter with the rich young ruler who asked Jesus, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” (Mark 10:17).

“Jesus answered, ‘You know the commandments: Do not murder. Do not commit adultery. Do not steal. Do not testify falsely. Do not cheat. Honor your father and mother.’ ‘Teacher,’ the man replied, ‘I’ve obeyed all these commandments since I was a child.'”

“Jesus felt genuine love for this man as He looked at him. ‘You lack only one thing,’ He told him. ‘Go and sell all you have and give money to the poor, and you will have treasure in Heaven. Then come, follow me.’ At this, the man’s face fell, and he went sadly away because he had many possessions” (Mark 10:19–22 NLT).

Jesus was not implying that to follow Him, we need to take a vow of poverty. He asked this man to “sell all he had” because He could see that possessions were the god of this man’s life. If something else had been on the “throne of his life,” Jesus would have asked him for that.