The custody of my soul

Jesus, having eaten a last supper with His disciples, leads them to Gethsemane. It is in this private olive garden that Jesus asks His heavenly Father if the “cup” might be taken from Him. This is the cup brimming with the poison of the world’s sins and the elixir of the cross.

In this garden, whose name means “oil press,” Jesus reveals the crippling weight of the cup when He utters, “My soul is crushed with grief” (NLT). Was Jesus ever more human than now?

What we witness at Gethsemane is a cosmic struggle of submission with an outcome that will either shatter or galvanize the salvation of the world. Jesus pleads for a different way, but chooses to surrender His will to that of His heavenly Father’s. And though the cup is terrible, He takes it.

Why? “Because,” writes Ken Gire, “more than he fears the cup, he loves the hand from which it comes.” For Jesus, the road to the cross is the road to victory.

As I reflect upon the Lord’s time in this garden, I wonder if I can be a victorious follower of Jesus without Gethsemane experiences? By those I mean events in my life when I have to decide if it will be my way or God’s way, my kingdom or God’s kingdom. Times when God looks me in the face and whispers, “Choose for yourself whom you will serve.”

Such events appear to be the norm for our heroes of faith: Noah (called to leave a world about to drown), Abraham (called to sacrifice Isaac), Joshua (called to lead Israel into battle), David (called to repent of his adultery and murder), Mary (called to birth the Christ), and Paul (called to serve the church he once persecuted). Should it be any different for me?

It seems to me that Gethsemane experiences reveal who possesses the custody of my soul. Custody means to have guardianship: the keeping and care of something or someone. At Gethsemane we witness Jesus granting God the Father the guardianship of His soul.

To be a Christian entails striving to be like Jesus – He who surrendered all. But such submission is impossible on my own. The good news is that just as an angel ministered to Jesus in Gethsemane, the Holy Spirit aids me today in being transformed into the likeness of Christ.

The more I surrender, the more the Holy Spirit takes custody of my heart. Is such surrender the road to victory?

Christ’s finished work on the cross answers that question.

Philip Gunther is pastor of Parliament Community Church, Regina.