Wednesday Devotion: Crying Out for Daddy

Mark 14:36 “Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”

Strolling near Jerusalem's Via Dolorosa, I heard a high-pitched wail. I turned to see a three-year-old boy, sandals slapping on the stone as he ran after his father in the distance. His cry of "Ab-BAH! Ab-BAH!" (or "Dad-DY! Dad-DY!") echoed off the rock walls lining the lane.

His father turned to both assure and admonish him, sending the boy back to where he belonged.

I thought of this event as I read Jesus's prayer in Gethsemane. Jesus cried out similarly to his Heavenly Father, a desperate "Daddy!" in his sorrow. Jesus was just hours away from his own sandals slapping against the Via Dolorosa stone as he bore the cross. Later on, Jesus would be hanging on a cross, exclaiming, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?"

In his agony at Gethsemane, Jesus could have felt first assured by the angel strengthening him, then resolute as the Father sent him back to where he belonged. Jesus knew his task but asked for relief, finally accepting and completing his sacrificial mission.

We may feel left behind by God at times. We may feel the burden of our cross is too heavy. We may feel both assured and admonished as we face the assignment we've been given.

As we go through Holy Week and examine our own lives, let us resolve to pray, agonize, cry out, and ultimately obey as Jesus did.

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