THE STORY OF JESUS: Matthew 26:36-39
“My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me.” (Matthew 26:39)
There was a time in the early church when christians sought martyrdom.
They wanted the honour of suffering and dying like their Messiah.
I want to be like the Messiah too, especially the “may this cup be taken from me” part.
Can’t seem to find any pleasure or point in seeking suffering or death.
Suffering of some sort goes with the job when following Jesus.
But that doesn’t mean we have to seek it out, as if suffering were the goal.
Like Jesus, we too can be “sorrowful and troubled” (37) about suffering.
But as a Jesus follower, our goal is the same as Jesus’, to do God’s will.
And God’s will is not that we suffer, but that we obey Him and do what is right.
If we “suffer for what is right” or “suffer for doing good”, we are blessed (1 Peter 3:14,17).
Deep down I want to do what is right and good, I want to do God’s will.
I’m asking that the cup of suffering pass me by, but that is not what I am seeking.
As I pray this prayer, I think of many others who are suffering horribly for Jesus.
This is my prayer for them too… “if it is possible, may this cup be taken from them.”
What do you sense the Lord saying to you?
PRAYER
Lord, it does not seem fair that some suffer horribly for You, while others like me live in ease. I am not asking for hardship, but I do ask for a stronger determination to do what is right and good – even if it means suffering.