Jesus looked at him and loved him. “You’re missing one thing,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give the money to the poor, and you’ll have treasure in heaven. Then come and follow me.”
There they strengthened the disciples, encouraging them to remain faithful to what they’d been taught. “We have to go through many hard times to enter the kingdom of God,” they explained.
But because they have no roots, they last only a short time. When trouble or suffering comes because of the message, they quickly fall away from the faith.
That’s why I’m suffering the way I am. But I’m not ashamed, because I know the one I’ve believed in and I’m certain that he’s able to protect what I’ve given him. I can trust him with it until the day he returns.
A man from Cyrene named Simon (he’s the father of Alexander and Rufus) was coming in from the country. When he went past the soldiers who were leading Jesus away, they stopped him and forced him to carry the cross.
“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you sit down first and figure out how much it will cost? Then you’ll know whether you have enough money to finish it.