There's Work Involved

James and John told Jesus, "We want to sit next to you in heaven." Jesus said, "You'd have to suffer like me." "That's okay," they said. Jesus told them, "Well, you will suffer like me, but I can't give you the best seats in heaven. Only my Father can decide that. Besides, if you want to be the best, serve others like I do."

"Please, PLEASE, I want a dog," you beg, and your parents warn you, "That would mean walking it and cleaning up after it every day."

"Please, PLEASE, I want guitar lessons," you beg as your parents warn, "You'd have to practice, even if your fingers were a little sore, and you couldn't play cool songs right away."

In both cases, you answer cheerfully, "That's okay!" You're absolutely sure that the benefits of having a dog or playing guitar would make the hard parts seem like no big deal.

You may be right - but, like the Apostles in this week's Gospel (Mark 10:35-45), you need to understand what you're getting into when you ask for something big.

The Apostles, who knew Jesus best, understood that He came from heaven. Of course, they wanted to be sure that they'd go there and be with Him after following Him faithfully.

Like a kid who wants a dog or guitar lessons, they weren't concerned about the work involved. They were too focused on the final goal of getting to heaven - and getting good seats there!

Anything big that's worth having involves work. To own a dog you can play with, you've got to clean up messes. To play Jonas Brothers songs someday, you have to practice lame songs today.

To get to heaven, the Apostles would have to suffer. Jesus wanted them to remember that so they wouldn't change their minds when it was time to do the hard work of following Him. 

He even told them how to do it in advance: Be humble and serve other people!

(10/15/09)