Ejemplo

Then he said to them, "My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.” And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” - Matthew 26:38-39

One thing people often forget is that Jesus came here to save, yes, and to forgive, yes, but he also came here to set an example. Of what, you ask? Of human life, and how we're supposed to live it.

God, in the flesh, came and said, "Look now. This is how I created you to do it." In the process Jesus was spared nothing. He endured forty days in the desert, hungry, abandoned and alone, tempted every minute of each day by Satan himself. He was mocked, ridiculed, challenged and hunted. He was engaged in theological debates one minute, ethical debates the next, then legal debates and philosophical debates. He had his heart broken by the inhumanity of the masses around him, the cruelty and the judgement. His sanity was challenged, his psyche was challenged and his soul was challenged. He laughed, he cried, he questioned, he searched, he raged and he loved. Through it all.

Just like you and me.

But one of the great joys of reading the New Testament is in seeing how Jesus responded. I mean: wow. A hug and a kiss one minute, a parable the next. When he wasn't drawing a line in the sand, he was drawing attention to all the pain and loneliness around him. He was encouraging. He was loving. Then, just when you think you've seen it all? Along comes Matthew 26:38-39. When knowing his very death was eminent, he did not try to run from it. He was sorrowful, troubled, worried and in internal agony. I mean, can you even imagine? Wait. I bet you can. Jesus knew you would too. Eventually, we all ask the big questions and we all struggle. You may not be literally dying right now, but you are dying everyday in the midst of your circumstances, in your mindset and with the lenses by which you view the world and your place in it. In your life you have been, or are at this very minute, in deep pain. At times like these, remember the example Jesus left you.

What does he do? He prays, he talks with God, and then? In one of the most remarkable moments of Scripture, he completely surrenders...he lets go of the desire for control and that frail human need to "dictate" one's fate...and he turns it ALL over to the Lord. It is the ultimate example for human life.

So, the only real question left is this: will you, at long last, follow it?