I have been thinking of Gethsemane since preparing for this year’s celebration of the Holy Week. Yesterday I read an encouraging devotional about the need each believer has to know the recommissioning experience Peter had beside the Sea of Galilee with our Lord after the resurrection. It caused the question to rise in my mind about Gethsemane. What about Gethsemane in relationship to the daily lives of believers?
In the shadow of the cross the Son of God knelt in agony beyond my ability to understand or empathize with. There He spoke the words which would change life and eternity forevermore: "Nevertheless, not My will, but Yours, be done." It seems to me that our Lord denied Himself, took up His cross, and followed the will of the Father. I think another way of saying it is that He loved the Father with all of his heart, mind, and soul (strength); and he loved us as Himself. My thoughts raise a question. If it is true that the Lord denied Himself and took up His cross (that is, loved the Father with all of His heart, mind, and soul; and loved us as Himself), should Gethsemane be a part of every believer’s life?
My answer to this question is, "Yes, it should and will be a part of every believer’s life." Jesus clearly states in Luke 9:23 that anyone who would follow Him must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Him. We each are commanded to obey the Great Commandment, with the promise of the Father and His presence if we do so (John 14:20-24). When do we therefore encounter our Gethsemane?
We encounter it whenever we are faced with a decision to do what honors the Lord, or what benefits us, or what provides for our comfort. We encounter Gethsemane when we are discouraged and want to change life to be less demanding or difficult rather than be faithful to Him. The minister faces it whenever he is faced with the unrelenting pressure of those who oppress and control. A wife faces Gethsemane whenever she is discouraged and feeling unloved. The businessman faces it whenever he must choose between what is right and godly or what is profitable. The Christian leader faces it whenever he or she has the choice to relate to people out of what is most comfortable, safe, or beneficial for him or her, rather than obeying the Great Commandment. The young person or student faces it when making choices of going along with the group or honoring God and parents. Yes, we each face our own Gethsemane, each and every day, each and every decision. Some days our decisions are more agonizing than others. The Lord therefore says to each of us, “Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation.”
Abiding—well, it is all about prayer, and sometimes it is in the agony of our own Gethsemanes.
