Thy Will Be Done
In her famed hymn, “I Am Thine, O Lord,” Fanny Crosby penned these words: “Let my soul look up with a steadfast hope, And my will be lost in Thine”. On my best days, I find it easy to belt out and proclaim these words, that is as long as God’s will for my life is success, health, and prosperity. However, my tune often fades as circumstances change, and God’s will for my life becomes pain or suffering.
As we look at the scene of Jesus in Gethsemane, we see Him trembling, stumbling, stammering, and frantically asking God if there is another way. In the midst of His pain, He cries out to God as Abba (the most intimate of addresses), and He is met with silence for the first time in eternity. Jesus had lived His entire life with the Father’s approval, and now, in this most difficult moment, the heavens are silent.
Centuries before, God put the first Adam in the garden, showed him a tree, and said, “Obey me regarding this tree; you will live, and I will be with you,” but man did not. Now, centuries later, God puts the second Adam in a garden, shows him a tree, only this time it is a cross, and says, “Obey me regarding this tree, and you will die. You will be crushed, and I will abandon you”.
People have probably sacrificed for you when you were not what you should be, but nobody has ever sacrificed like this for you. No one has ever loved you like this. No one has ever loved anyone like this. His love for us is infinitely more wonderful, and His obedience is infinitely more perfect. In the garden, He sensed what was happening and began to taste it. He still said, “Nevertheless, not my will but thine be done”.
In the Luke narrative, we are told afterward an angel was sent to comfort and minister to Jesus. While we do not know specifically what was said or done, we do know from Hebrews that when Jesus got up to go to the cross, He did so with a joy that had been set before Him. What was this motivational joy that drew Jesus to the horrors of Calvary? Very simply, it was you. It was me.
As we consider the events of Gethsemane and later the cross, may we stand in amazement that it was all for us. As we reflect on His perfect obedience, love, and forgiveness, may we proclaim, as the famous hymn writer did, “How marvelous! How wonderful! And my song shall ever be: How marvelous! How wonderful is my Savior’s love for me”!
Today’s Bible Reading:
Isaiah 50:4-10, Matthew 26:20-75, Luke 22:1-65