Samuel D. High
sdhigh@aristotle.net
-----Original Message-----
From: Apostle Tom <pressingon@hotmail.com>
Sent: Tue, 18 Mar 2008 15:20:17 -0500
To: <pressingon@hotmail.com>
Subject: Morning Manna (Mar. 19); BP: Mt. 26:36-46; RBTTY: Mk. 16; Joshua 1-3
March 19 “Our Suffering Savior”
“And He came and found them asleep again—for their eyes were heavy. And He left them and went away and prayed the third time, saying the same words. Then comes He to His disciples and said unto them, ‘Sleep on now and take your rest. Behold, the hour is at hand and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going; behold, He is at hand that does betray Me’.”
Matthew 26:43-46
None of us can know the pathos of His pain and loneliness; we can only pray, “Lord, help me to ‘partner’ with Him today.”
Loneliness.
It’s one of the “residual, rotten fruits” of the Fall and, truly, a malady of mind and emotions. We were created for intimate fellowship with God and others; however, Adam and Eve’s sin destroyed that, leaving us separated and suffering.
That’s why today’s Manna is one that moves us deeply—for who of us has not felt the “sting” that comes when others fail to keep their promises. . .or don’t show up when they’ve promised to be there. . .or knowingly betrayed us when it was to their advantage to do so?
Yes, I see that hand. . .and that one. . .and that one.
Let’s face it:
We’ve all asked others to pray for us and later found out they’d forgotten to do so and had even forgotten our request. And, if the truth be known, we’ve done the same to others—especially when the needs are great and the list is long.
Even so, today’s Manna isn’t intended to be a guilt-invoking one. Instead, it’s a reminder for us to “Watch and pray” with Jesus as He reveals opportunities where He can use us to touch others with His love.
Pity the person who’s experienced the pain of repeated rejection and given up on the world (and possibly even God). Could it be that these deep hurts are “invitations” to “enter into the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings, being made conformable unto His death” (Phil. 3:10b)? Remember: We can’t “know Christ and the power of His resurrection” (Phil. 3:10a) without being willing to follow Him into the loneliness of praying while others are sleeping.
Does this mean we adopt a stoical attitude and say, “That’s okay”? Does that mean we become a spiritual “isolationist” and quit asking others to pray with us or help us? No, it doesn’t mean that at all—for, again, we’re made for “community.”
It does mean we continue “risking” and reaching out to others. It also means we say, “Thank you, Jesus, for giving me the opportunity to know you better today.” And, it means we recommit ourselves to surrender our hurts to the One with healing in His hands and “watch and pray” for others who are sleeping instead of serving. May the Holy Spirit give us what we need today so we can “be there” for Jesus. . .and others.
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