The Cup

Mark Batterson, in his book, Wild Goose Chase, says, "When we come to a Bible verse we want to read real fast, we probably need to read it REAL slow....We pick and choose the truth we want to accept." I can think of so many that qualify, but here's one in particular.

In Matthew 26, Jesus is in Gethsemane, facing the ordeal of the cross. In prayer He cries out to the Father, "Abba, Father, if this cup cannot be taken away until I drink it, Your will be done." Commenting on this James Bryan Smith in, The Good And Beautiful God, wrote, "What is the cup we have been given to drink, and have we been willing to drink it?....When we pray, are we able to say, 'Abba, Father?' " 

It can be very hard to reconcile the good and beautiful God Smith writes about with the God who very often asks us to drink from a very bitter cup. Life....hurts. We can end up in places, especially those places we come to as a result of following Him, that are frightening, painful, draining, and devastating. It's easy to "drink a toast" to Him, so to speak, in the midst of blessing, well-being, and safety. It's another thing entirely when all visible means of help are gone. When the danger and need are pressing in on us on every side. When we're in a place we don't want to be, surrounded by circumstances we don't want to be in. That's human, and it was the humanity of Christ that led Him to the Gethsemane prayer. But it was the divine life that was His that allowed Him to not only drink the cup, but also see His Father as, "Abba, Daddy," as He did so. In the midst of drinking the horrible cup of crucifixion, He was able to rest and trust in the perfect love of His Father.

If you are a wholehearted follower of Jesus Christ, at some point in your walk, the Father will ask you to drink of the same cup that Jesus drank from. It may not involve a literal death, but we can be sure that it will involve a death. In His leading of you and me, He may bring us to the place where we need to die to our need for control, to our trust in our own abilities and strengths. He may lead us to places where long buried issues in our lives have suddenly sprung up and are causing us great pain and heartache. They can't remain buried. They must be faced. He may allow what has been a tranquil and serene life to suddenly become one of chaos and disorder. He may lead us to all these and more and in all of them, He desires that we, as did our Lord, say to Him, "Not my will, but Yours be done O Lord." 

He calls us to drink the cup, but how will we drink it? In sullen resignation, or, despite the pain that may come with it, in trust? Trust that knows our heavenly Father really is our "good and beautiful God?" Trust that knows that somehow, He will turn that bitter cup into glory for Him and good for us. He is the Good and Beautiful God and He cannot be anything or anyone else. If He has placed the cup before you, when He places it before you, will you drink it? Only the heart that trusts that He really is good and beautiful can. Can yours?

Blessings,

Pastor O