A Tough Step

And He said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will.” Mark 14:36

Want to be more like Jesus? Here in this verse are three good steps, tough steps, that we might take to become more like our Lord. Abba - the modern equivalent might be 'daddy', and here we see our Lord calling the sovereign creator of all things by that name. I think that even now after years of association with our Lord God that I feel more inclined toward hiding in the bushes like Adam and calling out a lengthy list of the Lord's titles than to walk with Him asking, "Daddy?" The flesh in me still feels that distance of sin which He abolished at the cross. That is my fault of course for listening to the accusations of the Accuser and hearing the desire of the flesh to bridge the great divide by my effort at religion.

The second is admitting and believing that all things are possible for God. The accusations of the enemy are not baseless; I was born a sinner and it shows still. However, I was born again a saint in Christ Jesus, and His work shows in me too. His work. What is more impossible for us than to save ourselves? It is His seemingly impossible salvation that brings us in a lifetime journey at long last to that bridge across the immeasurable chasm that Adam's sin made between us and our God. That bridge we cross with our Lord and Savior to come at last to the Father and call Him, Abba, Father!

Finally, we must have help with this one too, and that is to give up our will and live in the will of the Father. This is the one time in our Lord's life that we see Him not wanting to do all that the Father gave Him to do. Yet, "nevertheless," He says, "not what I will, but what You will." Giving up the will of the self and what we want is also a tough step. We grow and become smart in the ways of the world, and we think we know what we need and want. However, what we need and want is for His will to be done, and only then can we know the joy of life as our Abba would have it.

All of that reminds me that I am wholly inadequate and that His way, by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, is the way to go!

In the love of Christ,
Bucky