Will You Pay The Price?
And James and John, the sons of Zeb′edee, came forward to him, and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” And he said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?” And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” And they said to him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink; and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized; but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.” And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John. And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are supposed to rule over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you; but whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of man also came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
The disciples James and John wanted to be right next to Jesus in all His glory. Being seated next to Jesus, one on the right and the other on the left, are positions of honor,and they wanted to be honored.
Jesus challenged them: were they willing to share in the trials Jesus would face? Did they accept not just the blessing but also the burden?
They said “Yes”.
Did they understand they were saying “Yes” to torment and torture, crucifixion and death? We really do not know.
We know that Jesus told them—as He told all his disciples—that He would be handed over to the Romans for torment, torture, crucifixion, and death. We do not know the degree to which the disciples fully understood what Jesus was telling them.
Interestingly, Jesus foretold that the brothers would indeed share the burden, although He could not share that particular blessing.
All the disciples, after Jesus’ Resurrection, would go on to spread His Gospel, and most would suffer as Jesus suffered. Most would be killed in consequence of their choice. Most would share that particular burden. Their deaths were not ransom for even a single soul, yet they died nevertheless.
Jesus told His followers this. Yet they still chose to follow Him, regardless of consequence.
We know that all choices have consequences. As I have said often: choice begets action, action begets reaction, reaction begets consequence. This is true for all choices. Whatever we choose to do, we know there will be consequences good and bad arising from that choice. We know this is always the order of things.
Are you willing to accept the burdens that are the consequence of seeking a blessing?
Can you answer that challenge in the affirmative, as did James and John?
Am I willing to accept the burdens that are the consequence of me seeking a particular blessing? Am I able to answer that challenge in the affirmative?
If I am being honest, I do not know.
I know that I want to say “Yes”. I know that I want to follow through and make good on that pledge.
I have no desire to face any form of torment and torture, and I absolutely hope I never find myself nailed to a cross in consequence of my choices!
Yet I know that these things could happen. I know there are even now parts of the world where people do face torment, torture, and even death for choosing to follow Jesus Christ. While I pray that such things never happen here, I know that there is always a chance that they will.
I know there is a chance I might be called to accept such a burden as a consequence of my faith.
If that did happen, would I still say “Yes”? If religious persecution and intolerance were to become the norm here in the United States, would I still hold true to my faith?
I want to say “Yes”—but if I am being honest, I do not know.
I know I have felt awkward in moments where sharing my faith might be the right thing to do. I know I have debated within my mind how that sharing might be received, and what others would think of me.
I know I have weighed those small burdens and asked myself if my faith was worth those consequences. I know there are times I have chosen silence instead of sharing.
So if I am being honest, I must acknowledge that I might not accept the burdens that come from seeking the blessings of faith.
I want to say “Yes”, but if I am being honest, I know there is a chance I might lose heart at the last moment and say “No” instead.
I want to be the man who runs towards danger, but if I am being honest, I know there is a chance I might choose to run away.
It goes without saying that burdens are hard to bear. If they were not, they would not be burdens!
It goes almost without saying that few of us would choose to accept a burden if we could accept the blessing without the burden. If we could be at Jesus’ right or left hand in all His glory, and not be called to pay any price, bear any burden, suffer any consequence, who among us would say “No”? Who among us would not gladly skip suffering if given the chance?
I know I would skip all suffering were I given the chance. If a blessing was truly offered without consequence, I would take such a blessing without hesitation.
Yet no blessing is ever offered without consequence. With but a moment’s reflection, we can see that it is not possible for blessings to come without consequence.
Every blessing can be offered, but once offered it is still for us to accept it—and that means it is still for us to choose to accept it.
God has always offered us forgiveness for our sins—but we have always had to choose to accept that forgiveness.
Jesus offers to redeem us—but we have to choose to accept that redemption.
Because we must choose, we will have consequences. Our consequences always follow our choices. Even if we choose a good thing, there are burdens that may follow from that choice.
Even if we choose forgiveness and redemption, there are consequences that will follow from that choice.
If we choose to accept the blessings of faith, we may be called to bear the burden of ridicule.
If we choose to accept the blessings of faith, we may be called to bear the burden of exile, and be driven from our communities. We may be called to bear the burden of losing a job, or a friend, or perhaps even family.
If we choose to accept the blessings of faith, we may even be called to bear the burden of torment, torture, and death. We are not now faced with that calling or that burden here in the United States, but there those in the world who are, and what can befall them could conceivably befall us.
Should such a moment come, would we still seek the blessing? Should such a moment come, would we still bear the burden?
I hope I would. I hope we all would. I hope every person of faith would find it within themselves to bear that burden that they might push back against those evil men who would persecute people for their beliefs. I hope every person of faith would in that moment find it within themselves to stand fast, stand for what is right, without regard to consequence.
My prayer is always that I will have the courage of my convictions. My prayer is always that I will find the strength to answer the call and bear the burden that comes in consequence of whatever blessing I seek. My prayer is always that I will be willing to pay the price that comes when one chooses faith.
My prayer is always that you also will have the courage of your convictions. My prayer is always that you also will find the strength to answer the call, to bear the burden that comes in consequence of whatever blessing you seek. My prayer is always that you will be willing to pay the price that comes when you have chosen faith.
James and John wanted to be next to Jesus in His glory. I know I would like that, and I dare say so would every person of faith.
James and John were willing to pay the price for the blessing they sought. I hope, should such a moment come for me, I will be willing to pay that price as well. Should such a moment come for you, I hope you also will be willing to pay that price.
Complicating the dilemma is that we aren’t always sure of which burden is asked of us to bear. There is an unfathomable amount of suffering in the world, but which individuals are we supposed to help, and to what extent are we supposed to be sacrificial lambs?
Some people say that you use the gifts that God has given you. For you, Peter, that would be your magnificent mind, your superior reasoning, and your excellent writing skills - among other amazing attributes. People have also said that we should serve by doing whatever God puts in our path that needs our help. In your case, Peter, you feel called to write, and to help the homeless and despondent people you encounter. Much of the good you do will maybe never be known by you, but believe me, you ARE doing good and having an effect.
For example, it was you who brought me back to Christ. Your writings. I had been a Christian in my youth, became cynical and fell away, spent decades being an agnostic, then read interpretations of quantum physics that led me to being spiritual again - but I regarded Jesus as a superfluous, cultural phenomenon. Then about a year ago, I was lying awake at night pondering a great deal of your writings, and the thought came to me, maybe Jesus is like a conduit to God, a wormhole directly to the Supreme Love? So I prayed, “Sweet Jesus, conduit to God…” and I instantly felt the Power, the Glory, and the Love. Subsequently, I reformulated my understanding to Jesus being a frequency and wavelength in perfect synch to God, and that we can entrain our own frequencies by accepting the power of Christ. But I am still in the habit of praying, “Sweet Jesus, conduit to God…”
In any case, YOU had a profound influence on my life (and in other ways, too), but didn’t have knowledge of it. Keep serving God as you feel called to do so, and trust that He is guiding you and using you as you were meant to serve. You will be blessed immeasurably as a result.