Some people follow Jesus hoping He will make them important. James and John did. In Mark 10:37, they asked Jesus, “Grant us that we may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your glory.” They were following Jesus, but they still had flawed ideas about greatness. They imagined positions, recognition, influence, and status.

Jesus had something very different in mind. When the other disciples heard what James and John had asked, they became angry. Jesus gathered them together and explained that the world measures greatness by how many people are under you. Then He said something that should arrest every follower of Jesus: “Yet it shall not be so among you.” (Mark 10:43)

In His kingdom, greatness does not mean climbing higher than everyone else. It means stooping lower to serve them. “Whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant.” (Mark 10:43) Then Jesus pointed to Himself: “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve.” (Mark 10:45)

James and John followed Jesus hoping for thrones. Jesus was making them into servants. And that is still what happens when we truly follow Him.

We may begin following Jesus with mixed motives. We may bring our ambition, pride, desire for recognition, and need to be noticed. Jesus does not demand that we have everything figured out before we start following Him. But He will not leave those things untouched.

Jesus said, “Follow Me, and I will make you…” (Matthew 4:19). Following Jesus means staying close enough to Him, and walking with Him long enough, for Him to change what needs changing in us.

The world asks, “How many people serve you?” Jesus asks, “How many people are you willing to serve?”

Jesus receives us as we are when we begin following Him, but “I will make you” means He has no intention of leaving us as we are. ©