July 22, 2010
Not My Will, But Yours
When it comes to a huge accomplishment it’s not unusual for someone to say they have invested their blood, sweat and tears. The energy expelled could be from the work of their hands, or emotionally as they interact with people in their life. By accepting the will of the Father, Jesus made such an investment in us. “And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.” (Luke 22:44 NIV)
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Gail;
-----What was in that bloody sweat? Jesus knew the manner of death He faced. Rome made crucifixion a public spectacle to squeeze obedience from people’s fear. So He knew the sordid detail of it. And His ability to empathize with others would have personalized the agony of His knowledge of their suffering by reflection upon what He may have seen. I am sure much of the blood was the prospect of suffering this excruciating torture Himself. But He also knew the purpose of His death was to satisfy sin’s obligation to permanent separation from God. As great an incentive as this would be, it meant becoming the very sin to which He was decisively opposed, and this in the midst of great torture. But none of it was to where He would be unwillingly taken. He could call a legion of angels to rescue Him from the ordeal, or He could simply wipe out humanity with a word and face none of it. The necessity of the cross did not capture Him, but His righteousness was willingly answering its call. It was becoming another test for Him like were the forty days in the wilderness. The agony of His tortured body and the despair of the world’s sin flooding into His soul would certainly beckon anyone who could to breathe a word and descend from the cross with a relieved snicker. Would He maintain His righteousness by completing this purpose of His temporal life? Or would He break and commit sin Himself? The prospects of the two possibilities could not be more different.
-----I suppose Satan may have thought he could squeeze God Himself into committing sin. I know he squeezes us into abandoning our righteousness and descending from the crosses we must bear. But the purpose of Jesus’ life was clear in His mind because the problem He faced rose to a level only He could solve. Therefore His resolve was certain, and His bloody sweat revealed the intensity of the moment upon which all things depended.
-----But our lives are so complicated that God’s purposes in their events seem almost lost in countless details. The responsibilities we face today become multifarious structures of our past to which we seem beholden as we move into tomorrow. We must maintain homes and food supplies, jobs and transportation, and clothing and knowledge and even perceptions about this insane world for negotiating everything in some manner of righteousness. And we must do it without loosing touch with the possibility we may be called upon to cut away some of our time or supplies for others defeated by their troubles. It causes us also to sweat over whether we will test out righteously when faced with dying a bit for another. For such an answer to their problems is God’s will.
Love you all,
Steve Corey
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