<p>18:30 <i>Who shall not receive many times more in this time- </i>&nbsp;See on Mt. 10:27 for the allusion to Job. The Lord&rsquo;s prophecy that the believer receives fathers, mothers, houses, lands etc. only has its fulfilment insofar as the ecclesia is willing to share these things and relationships with its members. But the condition of the fulfilment was&nbsp;not explicitly stated. We forsake all human relationships to follow the Lord Jesus (Mt. 19:27-29). And He promises to compensate for this even in this life. But it depends to what extent we are willing to accept and perceive it. Through meaningful fellowship with our brethren we will find those relationships which we have given up compensated for, even if we aren&rsquo;t physically close to our brethren. In reference to Israel&rsquo;s deliverance from Egypt we read: &ldquo;God setteth the solitary in families: he bringeth out those which are bound with chains&rdquo; (Ps. 68:6). To be set in a new family is paralleled with being brought out from slavery. Part of the process of our redemption is that we are set in a new ecclesial family. This must be a reference to how Israel were brought out on Passover night, where the families and lonely ones had to join together into households big enough to kill a lamb for. The implication of Ps. 68 could be that it was in these family groups that they travelled through the wilderness. The N.C.V. reads: &ldquo;God is in his holy Temple. He is a father to orphans, and he defends the widows. God gives the lonely a home. He leads prisoners out with joy...&rdquo;. The very house / family of God becomes the house / family of the lonely. Hence the ecclesia&nbsp;<i>is</i>&nbsp;the house of God (1 Cor. 3:16). We find true family in the new family of God. By baptism we are &ldquo;added together&rdquo; with those others who are likewise saved in Christ (Acts 2:47 RVmg.). We will live together eternally with the other members of this new body and community which we enter. The links between us within that new family are even stronger than those with our natural family; and hence any division amongst the family of God is the greatest tragedy. What this means in practice is that we must fellowship each other. Even if we are isolated from other believers, one can always write letters, make phone calls, invite others to visit them, attempt to meet others&hellip;</p><p><i>And in the age to come, eternal life</i>- These are the very words of the rich young man earlier in the chapter. The answer to that man&rsquo;s question was that we have to lose now, if we are to win eternally; we must forsake material things if we are to inherit the life eternal. As he was only a young man, it&rsquo;s likely that his wealth had been inherited. He was being told that the greatest inheritance was of life eternal, but this didn&rsquo;t come easily nor by good luck or circumstance, but in response to a lifetime of following Jesus. The things which were to be forsaken include putting the records in Mark and Luke together with Matthew: family, brothers, sisters, father, mother, lands, houses etc. These were all the things which the young man had received by inheritance, and to forsake association with his family, on behalf of whom he had received his wealth, would&rsquo;ve been crazy and social suicide. It was as crazy as trashing a winning lottery ticket and walking away the same you were before you bought it. But this is the radical calling of those who must forsake materialism in order to inherit eternity. Therefore all seeking for material advantage in this life is surely inappropriate if in fact we are to forsake it even if it comes to us without our seeking it.</p>