From Mark 10:35-45 / To Serve or Be Served – On one hand, James and John showed great faith in still anticipating Christ to rule the Kingdom, after He had just told them He was going to die. On the other, they needed to understand the nature of what it means to reign as He would. To receive the glory that was His, would require hearts and minds as submissive to the will of the Father as His. Were they ready to simply say – “it is up up the Father who sits at your right and your left, and it is not up to us, nor a thing to grasped at”? This is what it means to be Him. Complete and utter trust in the Father. The absolute giving over of His will to Him. This is where He calls us to go. This is to walk by faith. To serve, not to be served. On a second note, this discussion helps us put proper context to passages where it seems that if we ask anything in Jesus’ name (as though that is totally unqualified) He’ll always do it. We must always take into account God’s plans, purposes and will in such petitions. Our requests are always subject to His sovereign, wise and loving discretion. The Father really does know best.