“Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.” Luke 22:42
The life I live now is not the one I wanted. Far from it. So far from what I desired for my adult life that it’s hard to recognize this life belongs to me at all. But then, the truth is that it doesn’t. My life is not mine, which is why it is nothing like the life I dreamed of for myself. My life is Christ’s. It is His alone. He my beloved asked me to be willing to lose my life (Mt. 16:25). To give it up. To give it to Him. For He bought me, purchased me, redeemed me, rescued me, ransomed me – to belong to Him. I am now my Father in heaven’s daughter. It is Christ Jesus’ bride I have become. It is God’s servant I am. Jesus Christ purchased me with His own blood so I will deny myself, take up my cross, and follow after Him forever (Mt. 16:24), learning to forsake all for Him. Some would call me a fool. I am. Foolish. Crazy for Christ. Crazily, foolishly, desperately yearning, hungering, thirsting, pining, panting after, chasing after, living for Him, dying to self for Him, learning to live a word I now understand. Life-changing. Undeniably, unfathomably, gut-wrenchingly hard. Nevertheless.
Do you know what Jesus Christ said when He faced the most heinous death of any human throughout time, the death on the cross as He would bear every sin ever committed by all humans ever, not to mention temporary separation from God, all to bear our sin upon Himself to pay the death, hell, and lake of fire penalty for us so all who would repent, believe in Him, and turn to God and His ways would be forgiven and promised eternal life in heaven with God rather than forever apart from Him in hell and the lake of fire? He said He didn’t want to do it! He didn’t want to go to the cross! He wanted God to take the “cup” of the cross away from Him! But do you know what else He said? He said this. Nevertheless.
Nevertheless He would go to the cross. Despite how desperately He didn’t want to, despite the indescribably gruesome torture, suffering, and death He faced, He would do it anyway. Why? For God in heaven. For God’s Creation. For all of humanity. Nevertheless. Despite all He felt, and all He faced, He would lay down His life. Out of His love unfathomable. Nevertheless. This word carries a message that defies our flesh, ways, wishes, wants, dreams, desires, passions, lusts, you name it. For God in His love for us, and our love back for Him and our obedience to Christ as Lord, and our love for His Creation, calls us to die to ourselves and live for Christ. To live His will for us for His glory. To say nevertheless. What God calls me to do in this moment, and the next, and all those after, my flesh might cry vehemently against it. Nevertheless for the Christ who died for me, I will live for Him! Will you? I am His. Are you?