MM Meditation - What Do WE Want From the Lord?

Matthew 20:20 Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him.

It says clearly that she worshipped Him. She probably fell upon her knees and kissed the hand of the Lord in token of reverence before she made her request. Her ask?

21," And He said to her, "What do you wish?" She said to Him, “Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom.”

She wanted her sons in a place of prominence in the kingdom of Heaven. So, when we look at her behavior of physical worship, then look at her fleshly request, we are a little stumped. Was she truly worshipping with her heart and was just totally ignorant of what she was asking? Or, was she going through the accepted motions of worship, using false humility to try to have her petition granted? Either way, ignorance of the Lord and His purpose or using religious motions to gain favor, she was wrong.

The Lord had to respond to her by saying in verse 22, But Jesus answered and said, “You do not know what you ask."

It surprises me a bit that a mother would think her children worthy of such an honor. I have six children, and even on their best days, their most spiritual moments, I know their hearts, I know what is honorable and I know what is lacking. I love my children, I am thankful for my children, I see their faith and love for the Lord growing daily, but I also see their faults and pray they would be more Christ-like. How could they be that perfect, anyway? They have me for a mother!

In the dog-training world, they use the term "kennel-blind." It refers to the condition of an owner being so high on his own dogs, he can't see their true faults. He can't see his dogs aren't holding a point and aren't instantly obeying commands. The owners get caught up in the emotionalism of watching their dogs gracefully run through a field, trying to flush out birds, and they can't see their faults.

This dear mother was kennel-blind. If she saw her two boys as we all should see ourselves, she would feel, as John the Baptist did, that her boys weren't worthy of tying the Lord's shoes. If she was honest about herself, she would have been kneeling in thanksgiving for having her sins forgiven.

But, before we are too hard on this dear mother, who obviously loved her boys and desired good things for them, let us examine ourselves. Are we asking things of the Lord that aren't in alignment with His Word? When we feel our prayers aren't being answered, we need to closely examine if our prayers are lining up with the heart and purpose of the Lord as revealed in His written word. And, is our worship a formality, or are we filled with true joy, love and thankfulness to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ?

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Are we asking the Lord to "bless" our children, when we aren't willing to teach them how to approach Him with true worship? Do we focus on the outward rewards of Christianity, prizes for Sunday School memorization, AWANAS badges, but not the true riches of personal intimate faith and dependence on the Lord?

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We worship not to GET, but because He is WORTHY OF WORSHIP.

May we bow, today, in true reverence, may we "kiss" the Savior with our devotion to Him, and may we pray in accordance to His Holy Word.