It was Anzac Weekend in the midst of the Covid 19 virus pandemic. There is was a lot of stories about the sacrifice given, and not only by the diggers. We heard stories of young men who had put their age up and older men who had lowered their age in order to serve in the defense of their country. There were also many stories about the workers on the pandemic front line, who were spending time away from their families in order to help the sick, without putting their family members in danger.
Of course, there were also the complaints of how hard it was to live under the current circumstances. Not only were they voiced loudly but there were also those who chose to defy the authorities and break the rules that had been set down to protect our society.
In the early hours of the morning, while I turned this over, all the sacrifices seemed to be so futile and life seemed to be a lot like hell on earth.
Under the weight of it, I cried to Jesus and asked “Was your whole journey on earth like this, just hard work? Were there any times while you were here when you enjoyed yourself?”
After all, He had left a perfect world to save us. His sacrifice was the ultimate, so much greater than anything that we have had to give up.
I thought about his time down here. He wasn’t even able to Facetime his father. He spent a lot of time in prayer, but that would not have been the same as talking to Him face to face. What did those conversations sound like? Was His heart constantly heavy and weighed down with the destruction that He constantly saw around Him. Could even His childhood have been filled with the heartache of watching his family being bullied by the Romans.
I had to wonder if there were any moments when He breathed “Father, we did a good thing here!”
Over the following weeks, I continued to ask, ponder, and look for times when Jesus may have felt a little comfortable in our tarnished world.
As someone said, He was human, and therefore, felt all the emotions what we feel. The wedding at Cana, and, maybe while he was waiting in the predawn for the disciples to come in with their boat, are two occasions that come to mind. I now have a feeling that Jesus went out, many more times than the Bible tells us, in the early hours of the morning, before dawn, to talk to His Father in prayer, and maybe as He finished, He watched the sun rising in the east and saw some of the beauty that remained from creation.
The one thing that I forgot on that dark Anzac morning, was that Jesus knows the beginning and the end. He knew that some people would appreciate the sacrifice that He was going to make, others wouldn’t. Unlike me, He also loved the whole of humanity perfectly and was prepared to go through the whole ordeal in order to save one person. Of course, that number has been surpassed many times over.
Is His heart still heavy with the number of people who do not appreciate what He has done? Yes, of course, He doesn’t wish anyone to spend eternity in hell and He continues to call them to Himself while they have time.
“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is long suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9.
Do you appreciate what Jesus did for you?