It's Not About The Best Seats

"If I tell you something do you promise I won't have to go to the doctor?"    I was a desperate  third grader who had looked so forward to my birthday dinner but couldn't enjoy it.  My throat was so sore I couldn't bear swallowing.  That's when I knew I had to make a deal with my mom.  I'm a coward and going to the doctor meant shots hence the question before the confession.

Fortunately my mom did not promise and also got the truth out of me.  As it happened I not only had strep throat, I had scarlet fever. I still remember some of the fever induced dreams, sleeping in my parents bed and being weak enough they carried me to the bathroom.  It was the first Christmas I remember in our house, since I was too sick to travel to the grandparents. I gained a fondness for the Bobbsey Twins (To keep me entertained my mom pulled out her childhood books and read them to me until I was strong enough to read them on my own) and  I now carry the label "penicillin allergy" from the aftermath of scarlet fever.

"You don't know what you are asking" was Jesus' response to James and John's request for the good seats in Glory.  In Mark 10:35-45, the pair started off with an attempt to get Jesus to blindly grant their request.  Jesus wisely asked what it was  they wanted.  He challenged them with the consequence of such a request, reminding them they would have to "drink the Cup" He drank and be baptized with the "baptism" He would be baptized.  Without pondering the consequence, just relishing the end result, they replied simply "We can."

Of course, the ten other disciples were indignant when they heard.  So Jesus had to call them together and give them some advice for the future.  He reminded them of how the religious rulers lord their power over the people.  He told the disciples not to be like them.  Instead if they wanted to be great, they must be servants.  He reminded them that He came not to be served but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many.

James and John  (J&J) are so like us today. We live in a world that promotes significance. We want credit, kudos and fame. Too often we think we know better than God and have great ideas that we ask God to grant.  Sometimes we cloak our desire as furthering the Kingdom when it is really another J&J request for "better seats".

Unfortunately we don't remember that our selfish demands will have consequences.  The pair found out that their thirst for a high place created discord in the disciples. Rather than making my significance seeking demands known to God and incurring unexpected consequences, these verses remind me to be different from the world, not to expect to be served but to serve.  It may seem as though I am serving others but I really serve God.

The 12 disciples had missed the point of Jesus' ministry- His life as a ransom for many.  The point of my life is to serve God so others will also see what Jesus has given- His life as a ransom for their life

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The ransom Jesus paid for my life guarantees me a spot in Glory.  I'll be in Heaven, a place so awesome my mind can't comprehend it, with Him forever.  Do I really need to be on the front row?  Will there be any bad seats in Heaven?