Daily Direction Reading PlanSample

A mother sued her 24-year-old son to get back $4,000 she loaned him. In court, the son said she owed it to him because the last car she bought him was a piece of junk. He felt he was entitled to what his mother gave him. That attitude is widespread in our day but it is different from the value Jesus taught us. One day, a mother came to Jesus with her two sons. She asked Him to give her two sons places of power and prestige in His kingdom. Jesus asked them—James and John—if they were capable of suffering as He would do. He asked that because in the kingdom of God, suffering precedes honor. The highest honor belongs to those who suffer the most. They said they were able. Then Jesus said to them, "You don't know what you are asking! You will indeed drink from my bitter cup. But I have no right to say who will sit on my right or my left. My Father has prepared those places for the ones he has chosen." God has reserved places from eternity for those who suffer for Christ. The other disciples got angry. So Jesus explained how God gauges greatness. "Whoever wants to be a leader among you must become your slave. For even the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve others, and to give his life as a ransom for many." Jesus contradicts culture. He declares that those who suffer and serve are greater than those who feel a sense of entitlement.