Final Thoughts on Mark 10:38
But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” NKJV
When James and John asked Jesus to give them the place of highest honor in His kingdom, He did not refuse their request. Instead, He let them know that the place of honor would be given to the one who could suffer for His cause.
Are we willing to compete for God’s best, with the knowledge that the best things are always achieved by the most difficult paths? We must endure treacherous cliffs, dense jungles, and the Enemy’s chariots of iron and waves of fiery arrows, since hardship is the price of the victor’s crown. Wreaths of triumph are not made of carnation blossoms and fine strands of soft silk but of fierce blows and bloody scars. The hardships you may be enduring in your life today have been given to you by the Master, for the express purpose of enabling you to win your crown.
Therefore do not set you sight on some distant ideal situation in the future, but rather rise up today to face the circumstances in which the providence of God has placed you. Your honor in the Lord’s kingdom is hidden in the heart of these things—the trials and sufferings pressing in at this very time in your life. Beloved Christian, your crown lies there. May the Lord help you to overcome and to wear it.
Bethel Bible Church Hawaii 