January 30

Ye know not what ye ask. — Matt 20:22

Every true mother wishes noble things for her children. Not always, however, do even mothers seek the really best things for their children.

The mother of James and John seems to have had only an earthly dream for her sons, although it was the honor of being in Christ’s kingdom she craved for them. Christian mothers should think of the things of divine love and grace for their children.

Christ takes our mistaken prayers and answers them in a far better way than we dreamed of when we made them. He gave the brothers high places, though they were not such high places as they had in mind. We ask Him to bless us, and He does bless us, but sometimes through the loss of the very things which we thought He would give us. The two disciples did not shrink from the Master’s cup and baptism, though they did not know that day that what they were asking they could not accept. They knew later, and did not then fail their Master.