Have you ever done something nice for someone and it was met with indifference or ingratitude? Your initial reaction might have questioned your intention in the first place. Was it why did I bother, or I’m glad I did it anyway?
When Jesus was in the garden of His agony, He asked His Father if the Cup of His Passion and Death could be taken away. He already knew the answer. As He suffered, He saw the sins of those He would die for, those of the past, the present and the future, but He did it anyway. The visions were so horrifying it caused Him to sweat drops of blood. He saw indifference, persecutions and the exclusion of Himself and His Father from society. His whole being felt the agony of the shedding of innocent blood in the womb and yes, He even saw that same innocent blood shed outside the womb. We have only to take a look around our neighborhoods, our cities, our towns, our country and the whole world to add much more to the list of what He saw – but He accepted the will of Father anyway, because that’s how deeply He loves us.
He saw clearly the scourging, the mockery, the spitting, the piercing of a crown of thorns as it was pressed into His temples, and all else that was waiting for Him, but He did it anyway. He knew He would be rejected and betrayed, even by those closest to Him, including those entrusted to lead His church throughout the ages, but He chose to do it anyway.
If we were asked to put God’s will above everything else, with all its possible consequences, would we do it anyway?