Not Even One Hour?

Not sure why they didn't have school yesterday, but the little 'uns are back in their numbers today. Ah, the call goes out for the miniature horde to go into the classroom. Maybe that should be, 'horde of miniature humans' or something. I'm glad they don't gather 45 minutes earlier and make their noise for a full hour. One hour: it seems so long at times - waiting for the doctor to administer sharp pokes as they like to do - or so very short. I like the time in the Bible when Jesus prays by himself in the garden and asks the disciples to watch with Him. He returns to find Peter, John, and James zonked out, and asks, "What? Could you not watch with Me one hour?"

One hour, is that so hard? We were not there at that time in the disciples shoes, or sandals, but we can gain some perspective from events in our lives. Eating a big meal, staying up until the wee hours of the morning, the quiet of the peaceful garden with no one around. Yeah, I can see how they fell asleep on their watch. It is interesting that the two forces, as we might call them, that did stay awake were Jesus in prayer for so many, and the so many of the religious authorities who wanted to kill the One. It was like Jesus was fated to stand alone against all the forces the world could gather to take Him down. Hmm, there might even be a prophecy or two that says something like that.

Our human weakness stands in contrast to the strength of Christ. He prayed in earnest for us, and we failed Him through our representatives, the disciples. As disciples of the disciples, does that mean that when our Lord stands alone in prayer against the forces of the evil one we are to fall asleep? No, we would not take that as a lesson of what to do, but a lesson of what not to do. I find it both sad and amusing that so many of our lessons from the Bible come from people doing what they ought not to have done. And, my experiential lessons in life have often come in the same way. Praise the Lord I am no better than the folks in the Bible, except in one way: the salvation of my Lord Jesus. No credit to me there, they can have that salvation too, and all the credit or glory in it goes to Jesus who died on the cross to save us.

Enjoy the day! Have a good meal, take a walk, and then try to keep watch for an hour. No radio or television, no book or other aid to wakefulness, just keep watch for one hour. See if you can do it in the daytime, then imagine trying to do it at 0300 or thereabouts! Extra points if you can do it with a cat nearby; they go to sleep at the drop of a hat.

Bucky