Growing up, I remember being in settings at school and church where my dad was in charge. I never expected special treatment. As a kid I knew that was the way it should be, so I’ve tried to treat my own children in a similar manner. My mom, on the other hand, saw no conflict in declaring her children the best. There is no greater advocate than a bold mother!
A long time ago, two sons and their mother talked about the One they believed to be the Messiah. James and John, like the other apostles, often dreamed about greatness. One day one of them must have verbalized the goal of holding a great place of honor when Jesus received His Kingdom.
“Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him. ‘What is it you want?’ he asked. She said, ‘Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.’ ‘You don’t know what you are asking,’ Jesus said to them. ‘Can you drink from the cup I am going to drink?’ ‘We can,’ they answered. Jesus said to them, ‘You will indeed drink from my cup, 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 by my Father.’”
How close to Jesus do we want to be? There was always jockeying for position among the apostles, but, early on, they did not understand what it would take to be close to the Master. Constantly, Jesus taught about true greatness. “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave – just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
I think I love Jesus more now than ever, but there is still a lot of self to give up. Am I willing to be last? Am I willing to be a slave? I wonder if I am willing to drink from His cup. Why is His cup a part of the plan? Those apostles who used to argue about greatness learned to walk in His steps. The Spirit led them to humility… and they all drank from His cup. These words of Paul expressed his great desire:
“I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain the resurrection from the dead.” Philippians 3:10-11