Be Careful What You Ask For
Have you ever been told, “Don’t pray for patience because God will give you trials”? This is along the same lines as what James and John did. They were not nicknamed the Sons of Thunder for nothing. They definitely did not have an issue with boldness. From our reading today though, we see that they initially struggled with humility. The asked Jesus to be made the second and third most important in Christ’s kingdom. They had no idea what they were asking for. With the boldness of the clueless, they claimed they were ready to do everything Jesus was about to do. Little did they know they had just sealed their fate to include horrible torture and painful trials.
Today’s passage challenges us to be like Jesus, but possibly not in the way his disciples wanted. James and John would be like Jesus in their struggles and in their assassinations (and attempts). What they struggled with was Christ’s heart of a servant. To be a leader in the church, we must count ourselves among the slaves of all. This contradicts our way of thinking. It contradicts the way other cultures and religions work. We are not to hold our pastors and elders up on an unobtainable pedestal. Those who wish to lead must serve. Through our service, we help others go in the right direction. Through our service, we encourage the frustrated and redirect those who have wandered away from the truth. We should be the first to offer a helping hand, the last to seek glory for ourselves. Most importantly, we should never seek our validation through the praise of others. Many people shouted hosannah at Jesus. Thousands of people cried out to get his attention and pushed to get close to him. None of that inspired the Lord. He did not come to earth to garnish the praises of people. He came to seek and save the lost. He came to heal the sick… both spiritually and physically. He came to serve and not to be served.
We all want the blessings of God, but are we willing to do the work? We want the benefit, but what of the cost? To be a Christian means we walk as Jesus walked, we live as he taught us to live. It means we count our needs last, our wants as not important when compared with the will of God. We know we are sons and daughters of God. We have an eternal home with our Heavenly Father, but if Jesus, the Son of God, set aside personal glory for service, how much more should we who follow him?
(Written by Keegan Harkins.)
Comments