“But I do not have the right to choose who will sit at my right and my left. It is God who will give these places to those for whom he has prepared them.” -Mark 10:40 GNB (“But to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but to those for whom it is prepared.” -Mark 10:40 (MKJV)
In life, at times we try to take control of who we include along the way; we draw some in and others, we push away. We use our own judgments to determine who should and who shouldn’t be at our left and at our right without regarding God’s plan for allowing each of those people to cross our paths. As written in Mark, even Jesus did not have the right to choose who sat at his right and who sat at his left… even our Lord and Savior knew that he had no control over the company that God would put around Him. What makes us believe that we, as lacking as we are in wisdom and perfection, have the right to tell God who we will accept and who we will reject? For whatever reason, God has prepared a place beside us for those who have a purpose in our lives.
In 1 Thessalonians 5:17, we find, “Pray without ceasing.” There is no question that God’s intention was for us to seek the guidance that He provides in everything we do – especially in choosing the company we keep around us… and those He allows to last only a season. Ask yourself today, “Have my actions in the relationships that have come and gone been pleasing to God? Have I used my fellowship to glorify Him, or to appease myself?” How you answer those questions should have a large bearing on how you interact with others from this day forth.
* Written by Kathleen Robertson March 19, 2008
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