Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”
Matthew 26:39 NIV
This verse reflects the humanity of Jesus as vividly as any other I know of. Sometimes it is easy to discount the example that Jesus’ life sets for us. After all, he is God as well. But, as Hebrews explicitly affirms, he is also fully human in every way that we are (Heb. 2:17). And, as a human, he did not want to go to the cross and die the most excruciating death possible. What human would? But he submitted his human will to the will of the Father. And he went to the cross, giving his life as an atoning sacrifice for the sin of the world.
An Example
And, in doing this, he set an example for me. My will is often at odds with God’s will for me. There are many things I would like to say, do, or avoid that are not what he wants from me. That my will is different than God’s will for me is not bad. We see that true of Jesus in the garden. But what he did, and I so often fail to do, is submit his will to that of the Father. He carried out the Father’s will. Not his own.
Lord, help me to submit my will to yours. Not as I will, but as you will!
