Hi, I'm Joni Eareckson Tada and welcome to "Joni and Friends".
I am so proud of my nephew, Ken Tyler. With a full scholarship to Loyola University, this kid is going places! He loves history, Latin, political science, international studies… and on top of it all, he wants to use it all somehow in the Marine Corps. Ken Tyler is only a freshman, but already his mother is so excited to see her son succeed. And like any mother, she just wants what’s best… she has hopes and dreams… so much is riding on this young man!
I was thinking about those hopes and dreams the other day when I was reading in Matthew chapter 20. Because it describes another mother and the future hopes she had for her sons. Starting with the 20th verse, it says, "Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him. 'Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.' 'You don't know what you are asking,' Jesus said to them. 'Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?' 'We can,' they answered. Jesus said to them, 'You will indeed drink from my cup.'"
The mother of James and John asked the Lord to bestow honor on her sons but was told instead they would drink from the same cup as the Lord's. Now… no one knows if she realized that Jesus was describing His cruel death. We don't know if she understood that this meant martyrdom for her sons. This dear mother is not all that unusual though. Just like Ken Tyler’s mother, every parent, every mom and dad wants to see their child promoted. Every parent has hopes and dreams for his boy or girl and wants to see him honored. But God may have a different plan for that child, perhaps one not as glamorous or as full of accolades – even when Ken Tyler becomes a Marine, well… who knows what that might hold in his future?! Always and always, a parent's desire for his child's advancement has be held in check as mom and dad pray that God's will be done in their son or daughter’s life.
Somehow I believe the mother of James and John ended up understanding this, because when you flip over to Matthew 27, you read a startling fact about this same woman. It says, "Many women were there [at the cross]. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs. Among them were Mary Magdalene ... and the mother of Zebedee's sons." Wow! The mother of James and John was one of the few who remained by the cross of Jesus. She saw firsthand the terrible cup that her Lord had talked about weeks earlier. She may have realized then the hardships her sons were destined to face. Oh, the tenderness and the compassion that must have filled her heart.
All this to say, keep your hopes and dreams for your child – but leave lots of room for God's will to take your son or daughter down roads that you wouldn’t expect. And leave honor and promotion and accolades in the hands of the Lord. To help you do this, I’d love to send you an excellent little booklet called “Guidance.” It really is a great little resource for a young person in your life, perhaps a son or grandson who, like my nephew Ken Tyler, is still only a freshman in college and yet to decide on a specific major or a career. Tuck this little booklet on guidance in a letter… lots of young people are looking for direction in life, and this booklet can help. Just visit joniandfriends.org today and ask for the booklet called “Guidance.”
Used by permission of
JONI AND FRIENDS
P.O. Box 3333
Agoura Hills, CA 91376
© Joni and Friends