Weighty Decisions

In any given day, we make hundreds of decisions.
Some decisions are small ones.
Some decisions carry more weight.
Sometimes we make decisions on autopilot without ever thinking about why we do what we do.

I thought about that when I pulled into a parking lot.
I always try to park far away so I can walk.
This particular parking lot had quite a few spaces towards the back.
I could have had my pick of any of them but I chose one in particular.

I chose the parking space on the right.
I actually wondered why I chose the right parking space over the left.
I wondered why I chose to park between two cars instead of in a space with lots of room.
I did not remember thinking about my choice.

My car just seemed to turn into the space.
Some thought process was going on in my brain.
I was just unaware of it.
My brain was working and deciding even when I thought it was a random choice.

Why do we choose one parking space over another?
Why do we choose one seat over another in a room?
Why do we pick one cashier line over another, assuming that none of them have lines?
Why do we choose to drive on this street instead of that street?

We choose what clothes we will wear each morning.
We choose what we will eat for breakfast.
We choose what book to read, what music to listen to, or what movie to watch.
We choose what time we go to bed.

Some decisions are more weighty than others.
Where will I go to college?
What type of work will I do after I graduate?
Who will I marry?

Where will I live?
What church will I attend?
How can I best serve others?
Where can God use me the most?

Every day, there are choices we have to make.
Some choices are made for us.
Most choices need our consideration.
Most choices need prayer so that we discern correctly.

Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”  He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.” When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing. Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour has come, and the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!” (Matthew 26:36-46)

On Thursday of Holy Week, Jesus celebrated the Passover meal with His disciples.
In the upper room, Jesus instituted the New Covenant.
Do this in remembrance of Me, Jesus said.
And they did, and we still do, every time we celebrate the Lord’s Supper.

After the meal, Jesus and His disciples walked to the Garden of Gethsemane.
The Garden of Gethsemane had a grove of olive trees.
Gethsemane is a place of pressing, a place of crushing.
Gethsemane was the place where Jesus was crushed; the place where a decision was made.

He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed,  “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him.  And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. (Luke 22:39-46)

Jesus had to do something he really did not want to do.
Jesus knew He was born to die so that we could be saved.
We were the joy that was set before Him. (Hebrews 12:2)
Jesus endured the cross, scorned its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

The victory was won in the Garden.
The will of God the Father won out.
The decision was made.
Jesus would die on a sinner’s cross even though He was without sin.

Jesus loves His Father that much.
Jesus loves us that much.
Jesus wants us to be with Him in Heaven for eternity.
Jesus made the decision to be crushed in our place.

The decision was difficult.
The decision was so difficult that Jesus sweat blood in His anguish.
Jesus’ blood was shed there in the Garden.
The place of crushing, the place of pressing was where the first drops of Jesus’ blood fell.

There is power in the blood of Jesus.
Jesus laid down His will for His Father’s will.
Jesus’ submission, made in that place of crushing, set God’s plan of salvation in motion.
What if Jesus had not submitted to His Father’s will?

We would still be in our sins.
We would not be forgiven.
We would never be able to go to heaven and be with God forever.
We would be lost.

Some decisions are weighty.
The weight of glory is quite heavy.
Jesus’s submission in the Garden cost Him everything.
The cross had to come before the crown of glory.

That is God’s way.

Lord Jesus, You shed Your blood in that place of crushing. The drops of blood that You shed in anguish, made it possible for us to be saved. You were crushed in our place. Thank You, Lord Jesus, for deciding to lay down Your will for the sake of Your Father’s will. How we love You. Amen.

 

2 responses to “Weighty Decisions”

1. Beautiful–the gospel which gives life to us all if we believe in Jesus’ sacrifice. Have
   a blessed weekend, Gina

   Reply

   • Thank you, Sue!
     Have a Blessed Easter with your family.
     Gina

     Reply