Our Heavenly Father

"Now they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was going before them; and they were amazed. And as they followed they were afraid. Then He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them the things that would happen to Him: [33] "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him to the Gentiles; [34] and they will mock Him, and scourge Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again." [35] Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him, saying, "Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask." [36] And He said to them, "What do you want Me to do for you?" [37] They said to Him, "Grant us that we may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your glory."   Mark 10:32-37

I praise God that we have a heavenly Father who knows our frame, that we are dust.  Our minds are fixed upon the temporal and we remain blind to our true needs.  Jesus told His disciples all that would befall Him in Jerusalem:  He would be betrayed, condemned, delivered to die, mocked, scourged, spit upon, and killed.  Jesus also predicted His resurrection from the dead on the third day.  Then James and John walk up to Him and say, "Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask."  Though Jesus would be crucified for the sins of the world, these men's request reveals all they were thinking about was their place in the world.

If we would be honest, we have to say that we are no different then James and John.  We want Jesus to do for us whatever we ask.  If we make a series of bad choices and are facing the consequences, we want God to make them disappear.  How much of our prayers are filled with requests for God's stamp of approval!  These prayers have nothing to do with the glory of God, but pleasure, ease, or comfort for ourselves.  Granted, God desires that we petition Him with our needs.  But often our wants become our focus.  Many people come to Jesus Christ because they have been told that He will give us peace, joy, happiness, and fulfillment.  The part about taking up the cross and willingly becoming a slave of Christ was conveniently ignored.

How many times have we asked for things that would have ruined us if God had done what we asked?  The path to Calvary passed through Gethsemane.  Jesus Himself laid down His will in the garden before He picked up the cross.  He asked that if His Father was willing to please remove this cup of suffering from Him.  But Christ concludes:  "Yet not my will, but yours be done."  That is what distinguishes Jesus from every man on earth.  He humbled Himself according to the Father's will, though being equal with God, took the form of a servant, and walked the path of the cross.  He was not praying for elevation of position or His own salvation.  He died so we might live.  Had the Father granted His request, all mankind would have perished.

One thing I love about the men of the Bible is that they are men.  Their flaws and weaknesses are not hidden from our sight.  The great men of faith like Abraham, Moses, Jacob, and David all made mistakes along the way.  During our family post-dinner Bible reading tonight, a passage caught my attention in 1 Kings 1:5-6:  "Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, "I will be king"; and he prepared for himself chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him. [6] (And his father had not rebuked him at any time by saying, "Why have you done so?" He was also very good-looking. His mother had borne him after Absalom.)"  David was a great warrior, a tremendous leader, but not the greatest dad.  He was not the stern disciplinarian one would expect.  Instead, he allowed his son Adonijah to do whatever he wanted.  Not one time did he ever question what his son did.  The fruit of this negligence of discipline in Adonijah's life was a premature death.

Now that David was old, Adonijah continued to to as he pleased.  He "exalted himself" and claimed the throne.  He had not been anointed or appointed king, but he tried to take the throne by force.  Most of us are Adonijahs at heart, wanting the throne for ourselves.  We are worthy in our own eyes and say, "I will be king."  We are like James and John approaching Jesus to say, "We want you to do for us whatever we ask."  I praise God that His Word and wisdom stops us and asks, "Why have you done so?"  God has placed the Holy Spirit in our hearts to convict of us of sin, righteousness, and judgment.  There's a country song that says, "I sometimes thank God for unanswered prayers."  What the artist means is he is thankful God did not always give him what he asked for.  God loves us too much to keep us from discipline and correction.  That's something we need but often don't ask for or appreciate. 

Proverbs 3:11-12 says, "My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor detest His correction; [12] for whom the Lord loves He corrects, just as a father the son in whom he delights."  Do you know who wrote this passage?  Solomon, son of David!  That means there is hope for us hopeless parents after all!  One of the rules of Susannah Wesley was, "Give the child nothing he cries for and only what is good for him if he ask for it politely."  (To see the full list, follow this link and scroll down to the bottom.)  The only thing worse than a spoiled child is a spoiled Christian!  We often think that we know what is good for us.  God know was is best for us because He alone is good.  Praise God that He is good, and His mercy endures to all generations!