Food for the soul: Only God determine

Happy Sunday brothers and sisters in Christ. Another gospel we will read and ponder for today's writing. I hope you are all ready and open-hearted to read the words of the Lord.

Lead image from unsplash

Holy Gospel

Mark 10:35-45

James and John, the sons of Zebedee, approached him. 'Master,' they said to him, 'We want you to do us a favour.' He said to them, 'What is it you want me to do for you?'They said to him, 'Allow us to sit one at your right hand and the other at your left in your glory.'But Jesus said to them, 'You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I shall drink, or be baptised with the baptism with which I shall be baptised?' They replied, 'We can.' Jesus said to them, 'The cup that I shall drink you shall drink, and with the baptism with which I shall be baptised you shall be baptised, but as for seats at my right hand or my left, these are not mine to grant; they belong to those to whom they have been allotted.'

When the other ten heard this they began to feel indignant with James and John, so Jesus called them to him and said to them, 'You know that among the gentiles those they call their rulers lord it over them, and their great men make their authority felt. Among you this is not to happen. No; anyone who wants to become great among you must be your servant, and anyone who wants to be first among you must be slave to all. For the Son of man himself came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.'

Source

Reflection

Today's gospel is talking about the the ten disciples and Jesus himself. The two of them James and John request Jesus that if he will be sitting on his throne in heaven they will be in his side one in left and one at the right. But Jesus told them that he is not the one who determine those things but the actions that we do here on earth and God himself judge us through that.

I remember a classmate of mine way back high school, who is so annoying to me because of the way he preach. I don't mean, I hate people who preach but the way he preach that gets him into my nerve. He keeps on telling us, his classmates, that aside from his religion or sect that he belong no other people could be save and go to heaven. Like wow! In very sarcastic way. I ask him how does he know, and he said to me because their name as a member of *toot* sect was already written in the book of heaven. And I told him, and then what's gonna happen to us then? He told me, we won't be save because we are not belong to his sect. I answered him saying,"know what you will not acquire heaven if you act like this because you are not good towards the people around you in the first place. Our actions determines it, not our religion, not what sect we came from but how we treat the people towards us. And it's not you, or me who get to decide or determine who will be saved or not. Or be in heaven or not. God is the only one who determines it. We are all saved as Jesus died in the cross for us. So, please stop saying we are not."

In this life, we always ask things on Jesus or the Lord God but we are not doing our part. Such as, asking for good health but doing vices and abusing ourselves. Asking to have blessings but we forget to become a blessings to others in our own ways we can. Asking for success but not giving our best or doing the hardwork. These and more things. We tend to forget that the things we acquire and we will be acquiring are all based on our present act and how we live our life here on earth. That in order to live with the Lord, we will be first like Jesus. As the gospel said,

"anyone who wants to become great among you must be your servant, and anyone who wants to be first among you must be slave to all. For the Son of man himself came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.''

Thus, we must not forget to serve others which is our mission here on earth. Let's follow how Jesus live his life while he is with us. A humble servant, who heal, and spread God's word to different places.

There is no wrong in asking or praying but we must not also forget that we do our part to make those prayer granted. And if our prayer or wish is to be with him in heaven someday, then we must work for it so that we will be worthy of it. Let's do good, keeps away from sinfulness and live a life with a heart to serve other people. Remember brothers and sisters it's not us who determine who will be save, who will be with him someday, but the Lord himself.

That would be all. Thank you so much for reading. May God bless you always. Again happy Sunday.

Love, Grace❤️