Who among us

My oldest daughter is reading a book about a World War II spy. So naturally this dominates her conversation. At supper last night she asked, “Which of us in our family would make the best spy?”

I suggested that Dad before his stroke would have made a good spy; quiet, reflective, incredibly observant, and strong. But I said, “But not since his stroke.” Wes stuck his tongue out at me. He does that now since his stroke. “Because of that,” I added.

“He’d tell someone now,” said my oldest. We all laughed, and Dad stuck his tongue out at the kids too.

There was much discussion among the kids. All their spy like qualities and their fatal flaws. Finally, they began to discuss what kind of a spy their Mother would be.

“Mom would make a terrible spy!” said my oldest. “They would send her somewhere and she would forget why she was there.” Yes, my boy. That would be the likely scenario. I had to agree.

It was great fun, and we all had a laugh at our own expense, mostly at Mom’s expense (which is fine with me). I later thought about that type of hypothetical question. The kind of child like comparison we make all the time. “Which among us is the best at this, or that?” Even Jesus had to deal with this kind of question from his disciples.

Mark 10: 35-37   Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him.
“Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.”
“What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.
They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.”

It always caused me to wonder why this was in the Bible text. It seems such a strange interlude. But really it is very human. We want to be important. We want to be good at something. We feel special if we are recognized. Like children we compare ourselves to others. We want to be set apart.

The reality is we are set apart. We are chosen. All we need to do is welcome His grace and we have a gift better than all the recognition, skill, and riches in the world.