For Jesus Alone
Read Mark 10:32-40
What is important to you? We all have varying answers. Some focus on popularity, influence, money, health, family, power, etc. Today’s scripture (Mark 10:32-40) starts with Jesus telling his followers that he will die and then be raised to life. This time, as he describes it, he adds details about the terrible things that will be done to him on the way to the cross. Instead of asking Jesus about what this means or why he is telling them this terrible news, James and John come up and ask Jesus to give them whatever they ask. Their request, we read, is to be at Jesus’ left and right in His glory. What they saw as crucial at this moment was the prestige of being next to Jesus as he was made king. Jesus responds with some strange questions. He asks if they can drink the cup he drinks and be baptized with the baptism He is baptized with. He is trying to get them to realize what He is, in fact, doing. Jesus is choosing to serve them all the way to the cross.
In my life, I have come to Jesus with requests. Reflecting on today’s passage has made me realize that my requests were often self-serving. Could you help me find a wife? Help me impress this person. Could you help me get the promotion? Could you help me find a better job? Could you help me make more money for my family? Instead, I have had to learn to ask God to lead me to decisions that aren’t about my glory but about His. How can I follow you (Jesus) by serving my wife, daughter, family, friends, community, and church? These may lead to outcomes like new jobs and homes, but the goal isn’t improving my life. It’s about following in the sacrificial footsteps of Christ that will have its reward but have quite a cost along the way.
Pause and Pray
Consider how you treat your relationship with Jesus.
Do you come to him to get something?
Do you come to him to let him transform you?
What do you want your relationship to be?
How do you want your relationship to grow?
Lord, lead us in your ways. Help us surrender our identities and ideas to become the servants you have called us to be. Amen
Walk in the Kingdom
What will you do this week to surrender your life to Christ?