A mother entreated Jesus for her two sons that one might sit on His right hand and the other on His left in His kingdom. Children of God will understand that this was a noble aim. Some mothers may wish that their sons should study well, graduate and occupy important positions in this world. But we see that very few wish their children to become great in the sight of the Lord. There are also some mothers who do not want their children to be saved.

I know of a mother. She tried very hard to prevent her son from going to the church and finally succeeded. She told him to go anywhere except to this church. Now that brother is abhorred even by worldly people. There are numerous such mothers.

Mother! What is your wish? Do you wish to see your children in the presence of God or do you wish your children to lead a worldly life? Think well. Even if people are great in this world, someday they will leave the world or the world will leave them. What will be their condition then?

Therefore are you like the mother of John and wish that your child should be at the right hand of the Lord? We should think about the mother who dared to ask the Lord that her children should be given that high position. How greatly she might have wished! How much she might have prayed for them! How many nights she might have prayed secretly to the Lord that her wish might be fulfilled! She might have prayed to the Lord for granting her children that great blessing. She might have also taught her children quite well. She might have told them, "My children, you should behave well before the Lord. You should never falter in your obedience to God." She might have knelt and pleaded with the Lord for quite a long time. Whether she sat or walked, her thought might have always centered around her petition of having her two children one at the right hand and other at the left hand of the Lord. Not content with just having such thoughts to herself, she might have decided that someday she would go and ask the Lord directly and therefore consulted her children: "My children, my wish is like this. Therefore let us go to Him for only if we ask Him directly, my mind will be at peace. You should also accompany me. Whatever the Lord asks, just say 'yes' and never refuse. To grant you this good blessing, the Lord may ask you some question for which your answer must be positive. Whatever the Lord asks, even if it is your life, you must accept. You don't have to ask anything. I shall ask and when I do, the Lord also might ask you something. Probably He might ask you, 'You are asking a high position for yourself. Will you behave like me? Will you obey what I say?' When He asks so, you must accept without hesitation".

Instructing thus, she could have taken both her children to the Lord. "Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him. And He said to her, "What do you wish?" She said to Him, "Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom." But Jesus answered and said, "You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They said to Him, "We are able."" (Matt. 20:20-22).

We can see here how much she would have tutored them before they were brought to Jesus. She was well aware that the high position was not easily attainable. Therefore she instructed them to accept whatever the Lord might ask. She wished that that by any means her children alone should receive such noble positions. The Lord posed a difficult question indeed! He asked, "Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?" What was that cup from which He was about to drink? God prayed throughout the night in the garden of Gethsemane. He said, " O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me" (Matt. 26:39). As He prayed, the suffering that He had to undergo came before Him.

Therefore He referred only the sufferings that awaited Him as His cup. In Luke 12:50 we read, "I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how distressed I am till it is accomplished!" Thus when the Lord was mentioning about His cup and His baptism, He was referring only to His sufferings. Immediately they indicated their readiness. Obviously it was their mother's teaching.

Though she knew how much her children would have to suffer, she had taught them about it without hesitation. If so, how much she could have understood about the position of the right hand of the Lord! How great was her faith! The Lord took those boys to all the important places (Matt. 17:1, 26:37; Mark 5:37). How much that mother might have taught her two children! She must have stressed the importance of walking faithful before God. Thus she might have given appropriate instructions to make them competent to accompany the Lord on important occasions. It was possible that, that mother might have persevered a lot to make her children fit for that good position.

Dear mothers! For the sake of your children what are you looking for? What do you want for them? What are you preparing them for? Are you teaching them for that good position? Are you praying for that? What are you doing for your children? Are you persevering for them? Think for yourself. We saw that how much that mother persevered for the future of her children so that they might occupy that important position. Many mothers do not pray for the future of their children. They don't teach them. Therefore many children show disobedience. When they disobey you get irritated, hate and curse them. But you don't make even a little effort for them.

Therefore mothers, like the mother of John who wished a good position for her children and persevered for that, you should also wish so and make efforts for that. "Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth" (Col. 3:1-2).

"I give him to the Lord. For His whole life he will be given over to the Lord" (I Sam. 1:28)(NIV)