Heavenly Father, when Jesus cried out to you to take this cup from Him in the garden on Holy Thursday night, did you have second thoughts? Did You think of/consider granting His prayer and finding another way to save mankind? I don't know how this would have been possible, as Jesus said, "all things are now fulfilled" as he hung on the cross, referring to words of the prophets, but You are God and can do all things. I know you are perfect within Yourself and man is created in your image and likeness, but how is our hearts like Yours?
When Your only Son prayed for this cup to be removed if it was Your will, did Your heart think of granting His request to save him from the cross? Did You want to save Him from the pain of saving mankind but knew it would be better if he suffered and died?
How is my fatherly heart like Yours? King David, a man after Your own heart, cried "O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!" Did You, Heavenly Father, wish like David to take the place of Your Son?
Now that I am a father, these are some of the thoughts I have as it is very hard for me to do what I know is best for my son and allow him to cry over some things. Still, my fallen human heart pulls at my logic.
In my reflections on passion of Jesus, I consider the time Jesus spent in the garden the hardest part. It was a time of inactivity. A time of hope, when Our Heavenly Father might have granted Our Lord's prayer and taken the cup from him.
Jesus, You and the Father are one. Did you know the answer to Your prayer before you made it? Was Your prayer formed from an aversion to the suffering You would soon endure?
Being a father brings a new level of awareness to life and a new way to read and look at the scriptures.
