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Squashed

Matthew 20:21
"And He said unto her, What wilt thou? She saith unto Him, Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on Thy right hand, and the other on the left, in Thy kingdom."

We are studying God's Garden, this week we will look at the delectable and versatile Squash! Squash are herbaceous vegetables in the gourd family, native to the Americas. The vegetable Squash got it's name from the native American word “askutasquash”, which means “eaten raw or uncooked." We think of the word "squash" which means to crush or squeeze (something) with force so that it becomes flat, soft, or out of shape.

We began our Holy Bible study in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter twenty, verse twenty. This is a time when Jesus has some acclaim and many are expecting GREAT things. Salome, the wife of Zebedee and mother of two of the Disciples (John the beloved and James the great) comes forward to ask a favor of our Lord and Savior; "And He said unto her, What wilt thou? She saith unto Him, GRANT that these MY two SONS may sit, the one on Thy right hand, and the other on the left, in Thy kingdom."

She asked Jesus a favor. What is the motivation of the favor? To help others or help getting chosen over others? Salome, the mom in this event, is out of bounds asking for special treatment for her sons. This type of ambition and motivation to get ahead of our peers is something we want to "SQUASH." Not the tasty vegetables but rather the common definition; suppress, stifle, or subdue. Whenever our focus is on ourselves that attitude needs to be squashed. 

The good parts of these daily devotionals are inspired by the sermon at Holy Ghost Lutheran Church in Fredericksburg Texas. You can watch it by following this link... https://youtu.be/WE3hPXhiQWk
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