Success Is Not Self-gratifying But Self-denying
LENT 2024 | DAY 26
Mark 10:32-45 (NIV)
(Song Tao, Chairperson, Youth Ministry)
I was once tasked to plan and prepare for an important exercise at work. I had just joined a team with established standard operating procedures, and felt stressed as it was a new project that I had not undertaken before. In addition, the years of built-up procedures also had to be laid aside as we were in the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic and the constraints we were working under were constantly changing.
I felt like I was headed towards a certain failure. Reading today’s passage, I wonder if the disciples also felt similarly as they heard Jesus predict his death multiple times, and saw Him leading the way to His death in Jerusalem. I wonder if they thought about what His death might mean for their future as His disciples. At the time, the disciples thought that Jesus was about to restore Israel’s political kingdom. To hear Jesus speak so frequently about His death and resurrection must have been disquieting (verse 32).
In their confusion, James and John sought to assure their future by asking to share in Jesus’ glory and to be allowed to be seated by His side (verse 37). They were seeking guarantees for themselves. Yet Jesus did not promise them glory but asked whether James and John would be able to share in His suffering (verses 38-39).
Oftentimes, my ideas of success and my responses to chaos are like those of James and John. For me, during the planning of that exercise amid COVID, success had looked like being overly prepared. I proposed multiple contingency plans to anticipate every kind of exigency. As a new addition to the team, I wanted to be perceived as capable.
Yet Jesus’ response to James and John in verse 38, as well as His subsequent teaching to the disciples in verses 42-43 remind me otherwise. I am reminded to follow Christ because He is worthy, not because I can gain from His reward. I am reminded that success is not self-gratifying but self-denying – even to the point of death.
When asked, James and John affirmed that they could share in Jesus’ suffering. Although it is not clear whether James and John knew what they were saying yes to, history tells us that they eventually fulfilled their promise to Jesus to share in His suffering. I pray that I might have a fraction of their courage and the Holy Spirit to guide me in my unknowing.
DISCUSSION POINTERS:
1. Why do you follow Jesus?
2. How do you respond to Christ amid confusion and fear?
3. Do you dare drink from the cup that Jesus drinks from and share in His suffering?
