So much to learn from Gethsemane

32And they came to a place which was named Gethsemane: and he saith to his disciples, Sit ye here, while I shall pray.

33And he taketh with him Peter and James and John, and began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy;

34And saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death: tarry ye here, and watch.

35And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him.

36And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt.

37And he cometh, and findeth them sleeping, and saith unto Simon, Peter: sleepest thou? couldest not thou watch one hour?


There are obvious things to learn from this section of Scripture. Things that we have been taught all of our lives. But how poignant is this section that we may often over look.

The Lord is Omni Patient. But that does not mean He does not grow sad and weary. As any good Shepherd or Parent. This is the point that I really want to focus on. It's not because he's not perfect. It's because He is perfect because He understands the deepest emotions.

Can you even imagine the depths of despair He may feel when He watches one in His care succumb to mortal weakness. It's not because He doesn't understand that they are not perfect, it's because He often provides the directions and the supplies to NOT succumb. And He says "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden , and I will give you rest . Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." And He stands there with His hand out stretched for eons of time just patiently waiting. And we shrug off the help. And then we fail.

This is not to be depressing. Not to point out that we as mortals SUCK! But as a PARENT this is so helpful to me as I try so desperately to play 2 roles. First, that of one who so desperately needs the reminder that He is there if I take the offered hand. And He has provided the instructions if I will simply give heed. And Second, as the Parent who does just that for my Children only to watch them ignore the warnings and do it their way.

It's hard to be one who puts in all of the work and effort so they don't have to. All they have to do is accept the offer. And they just won't. And it helps me get through to know that HE is perpetually in that position. And it makes it so I want to be sure and NOT be the one to not accept His offering.

The warning is always provided BEFORE the temptation comes: "Tarry ye here, and watch." Because in His wisdom, He KNOWS we're going to encounter the temptation, which in this case was to sleep. So He warns us. And when we do not listen, He reaches out to us. And He can't help but be sad and weary when once again we "couldest not watch one hour." But the next time he will do it all over again. The warning, the offering, the waiting for us to simply accept.