Re: Verse reading–Mark 10:35-45; John 13:12-17; James 2:14-17 (day one)
“You do not know what you are asking for. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink?. . .The cup that I drink you shall drink. . .but to sit at my right hand is not mine to give.” (Mark 10:38-40) When Jesus spoke of suffering, He often used the metaphor of a cup. Contemplating the cross, He said, “Father, if you are willing, remove this CUP from me.” (Luke 22:42) Same picture when James and John come asking for places of honor and fame. True greatness is not found in avoidance of pain, a privileged life above the ordinary stresses of the common man. The true measure of a great person is to bear suffering for the good of others. Those who follow Christ must expect difficult assignments, hard-to-drink cups. Good to know that the Lord drank His cup before asking the same courage of us. It was (is) the door to greatness.
