Thursday, March 24
Scripture: Luke 22:39-46

And he came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him. And when he came to the place, he said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” And he withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and knelt down and prayed, saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. And when he rose from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping for sorrow, and he said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation.”
 

NOT MY WILL BUT YOURS

“He created us knowing we would reject him…knowing we would choose sin…”

The God of the universe created us in His own image. He also created us with the power to choose, which was exercised in the garden….man chose sin and separation from God. Fast forward to another garden at the Mount of Olives. In the shadows a man is kneeling. A stone’s throw away, his friends wait for him. He is in such agony that he sweats blood. His friends…..well they’re all sleeping.

The man, who is also the Son of God, is praying. He is asking his Father if the cup he is about to drink can be removed. It is late. He knows that the Sanhedrin guards are coming for him. Judas, one of those within his inner circle, his beloved disciple, has betrayed him. The events that are about to transpire will be agonizing and will only end when he is dead.  

As the minutes go by, Scripture tells us that Jesus is in agony and praying earnestly. The path is clear and the choice is his. The cup will not be taken away. He will have to decide whether or not to drink. As he rises from his knees, the decision is made. The cup of God’s wrath will be raised to his lips and he will fully drink. He chooses God’s will, not his own.

When I was fifteen years old, I also drank from a cup of wrath. It was the wrath of a wounded child who was the product of parents who were broken; one an alcoholic and the other a substance abuser. Out of that bizarre childhood came a singular desire to control the chaos and a wrath directed at the God whom I believed simply did not care what happened to me.

That wrath led me away from truth and into the darkness of the occult. My desire to become a witch and find a coven to join so that I might gain power over my life circumstances led to dead ends and frustration. As I looked around me, I found few reasons to believe or hope in anything or anyone.

It was April and I was alone on a Friday afternoon when I met Jesus. I had just finished reading a work of fiction about a young man filled with wrath who embarked on a quest to learn about the Nazarene who called himself the Son of God. It was when I read the account of Jesus in the garden that I saw something I had never heard before. He had a choice in the matter. He could have walked away, but he didn’t.In a searing moment of truth I saw what I had never understood before. Jesus chose the cup, and in choosing that cup he chose me. He sacrificed his life for me. Why? For the most improbable reason of all, love.

As the truth of his sacrifice sunk into my heart and soul, I realized that I too had a choice, and I dropped to my knees right then and there and made it. I chose His will instead of mine……I chose Him. His agony and willingness to give up his will had resulted in mankind’s healing and hope….my healing and hope. His suffering had ultimately led to a new life for an angry and bitter young girl. He drank from the cup of wrath so that mankind would not have to. So I would not have to.

It has been many years since that day. A life of ups and down, faith and doubts, blessings and pain. But that picture of the man in the garden who willingly chose to suffer and die for all mankind never ceases to make me stop and remember just how blessed I am to have met Jesus when I was fifteen…on a beautiful spring Friday afternoon….a very special Friday afternoon….Good Friday.

PRAYER
Great God, Our Father,
As we call to mind the scene of Christ’s suffering in Gethsemane, our hearts are filled with penitence and remorse. Too often we flee like the disciples did, insisting on our own way. Help us to come to the place in our lives where we can honestly pray as Christ prayed, “Not my will, but Yours be done.”
Amen.

Lori Shanebeck, Executive Producer and Director, Biola Youth Theatre