Unamuno, the Spanish philosopher, tells about the Roman aqueduct at Segovia, in his native Spain. It was built in 109 A.D. For eighteen hundred years, it carried cool water from the mountains to the hot and thirsty city. Nearly sixty generations of men drank from its flow. Then came another generation, a recent one, who said, "This aqueduct is so great a marvel that it ought to be preserved for our children, as a museum piece. We shall relieve it of its centuries-long labor."

They did; they laid modern iron pipes. They gave the ancient bricks and mortar a reverent rest. And what happened to the aqueduct? It began to fall apart. The sun beating on the dry mortar caused it to crumble. The bricks and stone sagged and threatened to fall. What ages of service could not destroy idleness quickly threatened disintegrated. A campaign was started and it was saved.

Our lives are not fruitful without service to one another. I think James and John knew better than to ask Jesus for military and leadership positions within his coming political kingdom but they couldn't help themselves. If they fully understood the kind of Kingdom Jesus was suggesting they never would have made that request. We have the advantage of hindsight, learning from their lessons. Aqueducts crumble when put out of service. Christians too.