ESOCS Devotional 24 June 2024 – Ambition
MEMORY VERSE: “They said to Him, “Grant us that we may sit, one on your right hand and the other on your left, in your glory.” Mark 10:37 NKJV
TEXT: MARK 10:32-37
They were on the way going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking on in front of them; and they were bewildered and perplexed and greatly astonished, and those [who were still] following were seized with alarm and were afraid. And He took the Twelve [apostles] again and began to tell them what was about to happen to Him,
33 [Saying], Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be turned over to the chief priests and the scribes; and they will condemn and sentence Him to death and turn Him over to the Gentiles.
34 And they will mock Him and spit on Him, and whip Him and put Him to death; but after three days He will rise again [[a]from death].
35 And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, approached Him and said to Him, Teacher, we desire You to do for us whatever we ask of You.
36 And He replied to them, What do you desire Me to do for you?
37 And they said to Him, Grant that we may sit, one at Your right hand and one at [Your] left hand, in Your glory (Your majesty and splendor).
Read Other ESOCS Devotional here
These disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, James and his brother John, went to the Lord to request a favour from Him. The favour was that they should sit at His two sides in His glory. This was the ambition of James and John the sons of Zebedee.
Ambition is having a cherished desire or a dream. Having an achievement to make in the course of life on earth. The means to achieve such desires might depend on individuals and the conditions surrounding the desire. There are persons that will say, “I must achieve this and that by all means possible”, whether legally and morally justified or not. However, for James and John, they saw Jesus as their means of attaining their ambition of glory.
Brethren, to have an ambition whether in Christ or in the world is not wrong in itself. In fact, it will be safe to say, for one to be without a good ambition is bad. However, in our ambitious pursuits, there are things we need to consider. This is because if those things and others like them surrounding an ambitious pursuit are not clearly defined, they can do more harm than good.
Let us consider some of them in these questions: Is this ambition of mine to the glory of God or to satisfy my vanities? Am I pursuing it through legitimate, Holy Spirit and morally justified or unscrupulous/dishonest means? Is it God inspired or is it a personal vain pursuit that I am using Jesus Christ as a means to achieve? Was it inspired of God as His child or servant or did it come from my vain heart? Was it for the good of all connected to me or to their detriment? Will it lead to the breakdown of goodwill in my community or relationship or encourage goodwill? Do I pursue it in humility or arrogance? Many more such questions abound.
If we answer these questions and many more genuinely, we will have an ambition that is more of a blessing than a problem. If we read further down the text (Mark 10:32-37), we would notice that this ambition of James and John nearly affected the peace of the band of disciples following Lord Jesus; but thank the Lord for His wise intervention.
This issue of ambition is why church denominations break and more are formed. Some ambitions are inordinate, while some would be beneficial when achieved. Beloved in Christ Jesus, let our ambitions, which we clothe as visions for our lives, be God ordained, inspired, sanctified, certified and for His gloryso that our lives would be a blessing rather than a problem.
- Are you ambitious? Who inspired it – your vain arrogant flesh or God? Search your soul for answers.
- Beloved, ask God to help you in the formulation and pursuit of the fulfilment of your ambitions.
Further Reading: Exodus 34:16-30; Malachi 3:1-16; Matthew 3:1-end
ESOCS Devotional 24 June 2024
