Jesus Had Options

I was talking with a friend the other day about how seldom it is that I ever have to do something I really don’t want to do. Call it one of the perks of being a grown-up. Even work – while maybe not always the first thing I would choose to do if I did not need the money – is still something I enjoy (mostly).

Not having to do something I don’t want to do is not the same as always doing what I want. As I said…I have to earn a living, even if I think it would be more fun to travel or even stay home and read books

For me, an unpleasant task might be hard physical labor –something in the yard that is just plain difficult and will get me all sweaty and dirty, but has to be done. Sometimes it is a work task – in that environment “unpleasant” generally means for me something truly tedious, such that I think my brain is going to implode. Or something that requires making a lot of phone calls, which I abhor.

Occasionally I can find a work-around: a labor-saver, or a labor “savior” (aka “husband”). Sometimes I calculate the cost of not doing the thing I really don’t want to do – will I get in trouble? Does it really matter? If I stall long enough, will the task go away?

But now and then something comes along that I really, truly must do and that I really, truly do not want to do. When this occurs I can feel my sense of futility and frustration build. Why do I have to do this? What good is it? Why can’t someone else do it? To be able to accept the task willingly and graciously and not make everyone else’s life miserable in consequence is a real challenge (and a test of whether I really am a grown-up).

To me, then, Jesus’ gracious willingness to accept the will of God and endure death by crucifixion is astonishing (“Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me; still, not my will but yours be done,” Luke 22:42). He only had to do it if God’s saving plan was to be fulfilled; the other option was to let us all die. (Do you ever wonder if he considered that option?)

I can imagine his internal debate: why do I have to do this? What good is it? Is there anyone else? And I’m not talking about dividing daylilies. Jesus went, full of love for us, to the most tortuous death invented by us. Personally, I cannot imagine it.