Pain: the Path to Promotion

Daily Reading: Matthew 20

Scripture Focus: But whoever would be great among you must be your servant. (Matthew 20.26)

Devotional Thought: Have you ever seen aggressive parents telling a coach: “My kid needs to be starting the game!”  In Matthew 20, that’s essentially what the mother of James and John did.  She decided that she needed to help Jesus make the right decision about who would be his second and third in command.  She, of course, thought that her two boys were perfect for the job, and she asked Jesus to “grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right hand and the other at your left in your kingdom” (Matthew 20.21).  How considerate of her to allow Jesus to make the decision as to which side each boy sat on!

Jesus did three things:

·       First, he reminded this earnest mother that along with gain comes pain.  There is a cup to drink, a price to pay, a path to walk in order to be promoted to places of responsibility.  Being important in the Kingdom is not about having great status; it is about making great sacrifice.

·       Then he subtly reminded her that he, too, had an ambitious Father - that he was in submission to his Father’s will and that God was going to decide how all this worked out.

·       Then he gave her a principle:  The path to greatness in the Kingdom is not a path of privilege and power, but rather of humility and service.

What about you?  Are you the ambitious, aggressive parent who thinks that your “kid” (whether that be an actual child, a pet project, your career advancement, and so on) needs to be the starter?  Take a page out of Jesus’ playbook: “whoever would be great among you must be your servant."

Prayer: Father, forgive me for seeking my own advancement instead of seeking the Kingdom of God.  I lay my life, my service, my reputation on the altar of sacrifice to you today.  In Jesus' name, amen.

Psalm of the Day: Psalm 88.13-18

13 But I, O LORD, cry to you; in the morning my prayer comes before you.

14 O LORD, why do you cast my soul away? Why do you hide your face from me?

15 Afflicted and close to death from my youth up, I suffer your terrors; I am helpless.

16 Your wrath has swept over me; your dreadful assaults destroy me.

17 They surround me like a flood all day long; they close in on me together.

18 You have caused my beloved and my friend to shun me; my companions have become darkness.