36Then Jesus went with his Disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, "sit here while I go over there and pray." 37He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38Then he said to them, " My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me."
40Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?" he asked Peter. 41 "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak"
43 When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. 44So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing. 45 Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour is near, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46 Rise, let us go! Here comes my betrayer."
Nobody, not even you three closest friends will do everything right, will live to your expectations, will be there through every circumstance in your life, the way you need them to be. They can't! They are not perfect, and niether are you. Either your expectations of them, or theirs of you are going to be off and therefore there will be inevitable disappointment between them.
Jesus, brings His three closest Disciples with Him in His time of greatest need. Out of the twelve these are the most trusted, the ones that He brings nearsest to Him for strength and encouragement. The ones that He has poured the most into, without failing, over the three years have not been able to fullfill Jesus' simple request, "stay here and keep watch".
The simple truth is that no man can or will be able to do everything perfectly all the time. Only one can do that, has done that. No expectation set by a spouse, a boss, a friend or a Brother, can come without the possibility that you will not live up to it. We tend to set levels of these expectations, places where we draw the line that either makes us happy or casues us disappointment. It is natural for a fallen man.
Jesus brings them along with Him but then asks for them to wait at a distance as He continues on to a quiet place. His first request, "to watch." When he returns, to them, they are asleep. The request not accomplished, His trusted friends have not kept watch. Jesus simple asks, could you not do this for me? No condemnation, no ridicule, the question in a way allowing them to know the answer. The second request, "watch and pray, so that you will not fall into temptation." With this He adds "The spirit is willing, but the body is weak."
Spirit and flesh in conflict. Wanting to do the right thing but physically unable to do so. Godly and worldly colliding, Christ knows this of them and try's to bolster them to continue and respond accordingly. Again this request is not lived up to. He returns the again to them and again finds them asleep. Again he asks, "are you still sleeping and resting?" the question not needing an answer as each can reflect on thier own behavior.
Jesus, without any further chastizing them, siimply asks them to come with Him, as he is about to be arrested. They failed Him. they did not live up to His expectations yet He still invites them to be with Him. He still needs them close, wants them close as His hour is at hand. Jesus recognizes that even though the have let Him down the true enemy is at hand, the betrayer, the devils minion.
In our walks we are called by Jesus to follow Him, to use Him as an example of how we should live our lives. Jesus asks His close friends to pray, to be near Him, to watch as He is at a weak point and may need them. In there own self interest, in their human weakness they can not do it, they can not keep watch and pray. Jesus does not remove them at that point from the watch, He simply trys to guide them back to the father, to the place that matters most. He doesn't even tell them that His feelings were hurt, simple asks a question so they may work it out in their own hearts. We tend not to do this. We insist, in sometimes subtle ways and sometimes not, to judge and determine for those around us the consequence of the disappointment they have caused us.
We must be the example of Christ. We must continually lift those around us up, be a guide post to the Lord. We must offer prayer and petition, strength when others are weak. We must not be the judge, the condemer, the determiner of right and wrong, for that is the work of the Spirit. Jesus knows the true enemy, his friends are not he, they may have failed Him but he does not bring that against them. He merely guides them back to Him.
We must learn what grace and forgivness are about. We must understand that no matter what my expectations are of others, they will not live up to them. We must also know that we can not live up to theirs. We must see in Jesus, that discipleship is not perfect, that those that are closest may fail, but in the true battle that we are in, the battle against satan, we must stand together. We must also leave the judgment to God. If Iwere to set the standard for my Brothers conduct, then what standard am I comparing to?
Jesus, above all, when most would find fault, chastize, rebuke those around them for failing them, He continues to remain failthful and committed to them.
Lord, no man is perfect. No man can be everything that those around him need him to be. We will all fail in one manner or another the expectations of another. Let us see past these failures to the true purpose of our lives as Christians, to be a light unto you. To guide our Brthers and Sisters, children, and friends to you. To allow your Spirit to work in their hearts so that true change can occur. Let us not look only to the world standards, to our own failed perspectives but to strive to uphold your will for us, for those around us, that they find and have a relationship with you. That they can see the true enemy at hand, and together stand against him. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment