Good Morning Friends,
“Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee,
came to him. ‘Teacher,’ they said, ‘we
want you to do for us whatever we ask.’
‘What do you want me to do for you?’ he asked. They replied, ‘Let one of us sit at your
right and the other at your left in your glory.’ ‘You don’t know what you are asking,’ Jesus
said. ‘Can you drink the cup I drink or
be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?’ ‘We can,’ they answered. Jesus said to them, ‘You will drink the cup I
drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, but to sit at my
right or left is not for me to grant.
These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.’” (Mark
10:35-40)
Can you believe the immaturity, the
selfishness and the arrogance of James and John?
First, they had to know that what they were
going to ask of Jesus was not something they should have been asking for. You can tell that they knew by the way they
introduced their question to Jesus. They
tried to trick Jesus into agreeing to their request before they told Him what
their request was. That sounds like
something a four year old would do. Of
course Jesus didn’t fall for their trickery.
Then there is the selfishness of the question
itself. They wanted power and glory – to
sit on the right and left of Jesus.
Then comes the arrogance. When Jesus asked them if they could drink the
cup He was going to drink they said they could.
There was no question about their strength or ability – not in their own
mind. They knew they could handle whatever
life threw at them.
I’m shocked that two of Jesus’ closest followers
would be so immature, so selfish and so arrogant. That is, I’m shocked until I do an honest
review of my own prayer requests made to the Lord. When I look honestly at what I’ve asked for I
can often see immaturity, selfishness and arrogance in my own requests of
God. Maybe James and John aren’t so much
different from the way I am – and I’ve been with Jesus a lot longer than they
had when they made their requests!
Lord, help me grow beyond my immaturity. Help me say “no” to my selfishness. Help me lay aside all arrogance for the
humility that You demonstrated so clearly.
His, by Grace,
Steve
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