October 22

Imagine that you were in the inner circle of Jesus Christ, King of kings and Lord of lords. Imagine that out of that inner circle, only three of you experienced events and moments that none of the others did. Imagine being zealous for Jesus to the point that you wanted to call fire down from heaven to destroy the opposition. Imagine clinging to Him and resting your head on His chest. Imagine your feelings and thoughts knowing that Jesus clearly loved you and being called "the Disciple whom Jesus loved."

John and his brother John clearly understood that Jesus was going to be glorified and reign. I'm sure all sorts of images danced in their heads as they imagined Jesus in His glory AND imagined what they would look like next to Him with power and prestigue at their taking. At that moment, I'm sure they were imaging Jesus reigning before them in Israel w/all their friends and enemies bowing at their feet. Zealously seizing the moment, these two Sons of Thunder as Jesus referred to them approached the King bolding asking for Jesus to do whatever they wanted in Mark 10:35-45, a portion of today's Scripture reading.

As they dialogued w/Jesus and He clearly told them that the positions to His left and right were not His to give but for those prepared for them, the other disciples got wind of James and John's bold request. Now imagine how you would feel if you were apart of His inner circle but that someone within wanted that special place of authority and greatness above you. Of course, all sorts of feelings stirred among the disciples as they heard the displeasing news. I'm sure pride and arrogance as well as competiveness and maybe even jealousy welled up within each of them. Can you relate?

But All-Knowing Jesus called them to Himself. Knowing their hearts and minds, He spoke these gentle but piercing words to His beloved disciples, "...but whoever of you desires to become great among you shall be your servant. And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." Notice that He didn't rebuke them for wanting to be great in His Kingdom. He simply changed their perspective on that greatness - that achieving greatness in His Kingdom wasn't about exercising authority and lordship over others but serving them instead. Jesus, All-Powerful King, Son of God, reminded His zealous children that even He came not to be served but to serve to the point of ransoming His life, giving His life to redeem mankind who were bound and enslaved by sin.

And now we have that same opportunity...to serve as Jesus served...to lives our lives for Jesus by serving others. Not that we have to done a towel and apron and wash every foot that we see but that we use our gifts and talents and influence to somehow make a difference in someone else's life for the glory of God. Whether we change someone's flat tire or take a single mom groceries...whether we coach a soccer team or have a Bible study in our home...whether we give a homeless person a bottled water or a hungry child in Sunday School a cookie...serve as unto Jesus and you WILL make a difference in such lives!

Have a wonderful weekend. See you tomorrow.

Blessings,
Rolanda