Ridiculous Justifications

I sat down and stared aimlessly at the laundry basket that sat overflowing at my tired feet. My to-do had grown increasingly long and nowhere upon it were scribbled words declaring the laundry a priority.

Deadlines, commitments, and responsibilities always seem to make their way to the top of our lists. I pondered this thought as I took one stair at a time to the upper floor. When I walked into the bedroom, the bed called to me like a child in the night. I crawled in pulling the covers over my head. But it was not long before I heard the whispers of God in my cloud of darkness. Oh, how very ridiculous my justification for pulling the covers back over my head.

Jesus does not need to hear our to-do lists when we grumble in the morning. How very often our time with Him is wasted by stating the obvious. Jesus desires us to come to Him in conversation with purpose, not presenting Him with an agenda and list.

In Matthew 20, we find the mother of Zebedee’s sons coming before Jesus with a most lavish request. She asks Jesus to secure a place beside Him in heaven for each of her sons, one to His right and one to His left. Jesus is quick to tell her that she sincerely does not know what she is asking.

Which leaves us to question, do we sincerely know what it is that we are asking?

Matthew 20:26-28, … Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave― just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

This mother clearly had an agenda. She stopped at nothing to present herself before God Himself in order to request what she perhaps believed was her entitlement. Jesus gently corrected her and shared with others the life-giving truth that in order for one to achieve greatness, one must become a servant. In fact, He used the word slave.

We must not become a slave to our to-do lists thinking that presenting our requests to God will get us where we believe we should go. We must come before the throne of God with a heart ready to receive instruction. We must come before the throne of God with a purpose and a heart prepared to do something each and every day that will help us achieve our goal.

We must pull the covers off of our heads and shake off our justifications in order to be a servant in the kingdom of God.

Father, the covers are off my head and my eyes are on the goal. Help me to let go of the agenda that often grips my soul in exchange for a heart that finds the greatest joy in being a slave to your cause. In Jesus name, amen.

 

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