Little is the Way in Life's Biggest Moments

S - Mark 14:32, 33, 35, 36, 39, 40 (ESV): "And they went to a place called Gethsemane. And he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” And he took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be greatly distressed and troubled. … And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” … And again he went away and prayed, saying the same words. And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy, and they did not know what to answer him."

O - Jesus asked the three to come with him but he didn't ask them to pray for him. He'd been talking plainly with all the twelve about his trial, torture and crucifixion and yet prayed that "the hour might pass from him." Why bother asking for something he already knows is not going to happen? The answer to this is found in the opening of Jesus' dialogue with his Father "Abba … all things are possible for you." Jesus, like any other child, is not required to figure out how his request could be answered. Children don't think that way at all. His part is to ask … and he does. Jesus instructs all who would follow him to ask anything, to believe because all things are possible to him who does, and to be childlike. This is how Jesus lived among us and how he calls us to live every day while it is called today.

A - Am I willing to be little, to be childlike like Jesus? The world, secular and religious, wants me to be and live its' definition of mature; one which is anything but childlike. It wants me to fully embrace the way the world is and the way it works … only to do so benevolently. Jesus, the most brilliant man who ever lived, did not live this way and specifically instructs his followers to not live like that either (Matthew 18:1-3). Jesus insists that I accept a transformation in my thinking, living and speaking … to repent because the kingdom of heaven is not far away, it's near. I choose to repent, to believe, be little and to ask big.

P - Lord God Almighty,

Thank you for wanting to be my Father and for insisting that I be your child which requires me to be childlike. I ask for and welcome the transformation you intend and accomplish in any who will follow. Today I will be little and ask big unto new wineskins, mulberry trees in the ocean and that which is too wonderful for me.

Living in Jesus' name,

Steve