Thursday, October 28, 2021

Matthew 26:36-46

Matthew 26:36-46 

  When we pray the Lord's prayer, we say Thy Will be Done, but it's such a hard thing to pray and fully mean.  We want to mean it... but God asks some huge things of some Biblical characters.
  Remember when Daniel went into the Lions' Den?
  Or when Gideon had to get rid of most of his army?
  Or when Esther risked her life to address the king?
  One way to read the Bible is to read it as a collection of heroes of the faith who we are called to emulate.  And while there are certainly traits of many Biblical leaders, male and female, that we are wise to imitate, the Bible isn't a book about human heroes.  It's a book about God and what God is doing.  The Bible is meant to teach us about how God works through ordinary people, and the best Biblical characters reflect traits of God.  So Jesus is a braver Daniel, willing to demonstrate his mastery over creation.  Jesus is a stronger Gideon, taking on any force one his own.  Jesus is a better Esther, willing to risk his own life to save his people.  All of these Biblical characters are pointing us to God, just as we are called to point to God in our own lives.  We aren't the heroes of the story -- we're the ones who are saved by the true hero who never disappoints, who always wins the day, who delivers us from peril.
  So even if we struggle to truly follow God's will, afraid of what might come, we can give thanks that Jesus always follows God's will perfectly, meeting the demands that we cannot, and it is his faithfulness that saves us.

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