While struggling over the impending crucifixion in the garden of Gethsemane, the book of Matthew relays this account of Jesus Christ’s experience:
“He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” Matthew 26:39, NLT.
Jesus yields to the crucifixion, and we know the rest of the story. However, those words, “I want your will to be done, not mine,” are often interpreted as evidence that God sets us up to suffer at times, and it’s our fate to submit and endure the best we can.
But Christian Science reveals a higher view to take in.
God never sets us up to suffer. God is Love. Divine Love sets us up for success over suffering. It’s sin that suffers, not a child of God.
The sin of life in matter was the suffering sense Jesus struggled with while accepting the path of progress ahead of him. It was not God’s will for him to suffer, but for the belief of life in matter to pass away. When he finally conceded, “…your will be done,” he meant, “Yes, I agree Father, I do not live in matter. I live in Spirit where there is no death to fear.” It was as if he were to say, “My Life is in Spirit. I have nothing to fear. This is God’s will that I live and thrive in Spirit.” When Jesus let go of life in matter, his struggle was over.
The lesson applies to anytime we’re tempted to think God has brought suffering our way. He has not. It’s a sinful sense that is suffering. The quicker we discern the spiritual lesson God is teaching us, the sooner we’ll let go of that suffering sense and be free.
God’s plan for you is to thrive in Spirit! Never to suffer in matter.
Good day Evan and group. Good reflection to start the week. It’s like Evan says, sometimes we hear people in the street who believe in God, but … he does not understand, he does not really know him. They say before an illness or any other disharmony “was or is … God’s will that this or that unpleasant thing happen” in a posture of total resignation. The message of our dear Jesus says the opposite. Our Teacher speaks to us of God being Love, Life, Intelligence, Truth. What is God’s will then? The Good, without doubts. The will of God as its reflections is the permanent harmony, proper to God, of a God who is Love. The resignation to evil is carnal mind, belief in a life outside of God, the belief that we are separated from God, but it is not that’s right But, as Jesus did, we must work on this issue and against temptation. Good week for all, blessings, peace, harmony for all.
The precious statement at the end of your piece is just perfect Evan!
How true it is that “God’s plan for (us) is to thrive in Spirit! Never to suffer in matter.”
The statement about what God does for us is so applicable and relevant! And as we’re all working and striving to understand God better, it is so important to remember that God always has a ‘plan’; and that plan is for us all to thrive to understand the true meaning of Spirit, more and more!
We are so blessed!
MarySue Harris
Well we all have a belief (or 100 or so!) of life in matter to overcome and I hadn’t looked at this part of Jesus story like that before. We all have our work to do.
Jesus work was the big one!! …and we have all learnt so much from his lessons.
Thankyou for your always new vision of so many “old’ stories and times Evan.
Again, as all stated, GRATITUDE to you and all who shared. I love the word THRIVE. IT really is elucidating
This is so helpful and I’m so grateful for it today. I always used to think that when MBE wrote “Trials are proof of God’s care” that she meant that God sent us trials and problems to suffer and that didn’t seem right to me. One day the thought came to me that ‘Trials prove God’s care’ meaning that through trials we come to grow in our understanding of God’s care for us and gain healing. There seemed to me a subtle difference in the two. Evan if I am wrong in this please correct me!!
Linda from the UK’s comment made me think about how much I used to struggle with the trial that Mrs. Eddy writes about in Science and Health. I used to not like it much, but now I really appreciate it a lot. I wrote a paper for our church on it and had a healing of lumps in my breasts during that time. Anyway, she points out that the whole case shifts once the patient is lifted out of the Court of Error and into the Court of Spirit. In the Court of Spirit, there are no liars, no false witnesses, no corrupt jury, no bought off Judge Medicine. There is only Truth and it declares that man is innocent. The attorney (Christian Science) knew it was a winning case and had no fear because the trial was now in the proper court of true law – God’s law was governing. The trial in this case proves that there is only one perfect man to take the stand and to declare his perfection and find his innocence intact. So, a trial can be a very good thing if you get to put in good evidence
Yes, I’ve been considering where and when the crucifixion actually happened. Since Jesus knew ahead of time everything he was to go through, it was in the garden, not on the cross, that he faced it all full-on. His tears dropped “as blood.” You make it very clear the point where he was freed of fear — “When Jesus let go of life in matter, his struggle was over.”
Then angels came and ministered unto him. I can’t help think that those angels told him of a vast future where his “thy will be done” would inspire millions upon millions of people, where his story would be told in every corner of the earth, where his holy birth would be celebrated in cities, hamlets and hearts throughout time. A beautiful reward for such a deeply loving self-sacrifice!
Thank you Evan. Excellent spiritual understanding which helps me to correct my thought which is sometimes wondering why I should suffer the pains of human life to why I should suffer not by acknowledging my true spiritual life. Acknowledging God to be wholly good, and aligning with that perception in consciousness, takes away the thought that God could be otherwise. In harmony there is no disharmony. In love there can be no hate and in life there can be no death.
In the span of one second
a grateful heart can heal…
When two seconds pass
One begins to feel…
Three seconds of prayer
can open any door…
When the fourth arrives
the Soul opens more…
The 5th marks the half
and in stillness you begin
to hear…
6 reveals a LIGHT
you didn’t know was there…
Seven seconds show the
Radiant face of who
you truly are…
Eight now fills your life
with your natural state
of Grace…..
Nine brings a peace
and stillness, all can
understand…..
10 seconds to the
Mountain Top,
Born anew this night,
the Original Being
has emerged,
Draped in Golden Light….
Very nice Macimo. Precious ideas.
Thank you so much Evan for today’s post, which sheds more light for me on Jesus’ experience So ….following that, did Jesus suffer on the cross if he had already fully given up his belief of life in matter? Mrs Eddy says at one point. ‘…..Jesus suffered and triumphed’. Just trying to follow this thought through.
Thank you Maximo – lovely poem, and thanks to others who have contributed. A happy week to all.
Dear Maximo. How wonderful the poem, beautiful. What a talent!!!
MAXIMO I believe you have struct a home rum.
Evan, thanks for your acknowledgment. Our group is so very enlightened. The poem sets deeply in my thinking. As Christmas is just a short distance for us to be humble, we can soak in more truth to remind us what Jesus has brought to us . Believe me I usually start my day off after reading the daily lesson, our meaning is serving God and this group is so informative of reminding us of our Daily Bread. Merry Christmas to all and thanks again Evan for continuing our daily thought and need. I tend to read this log before my lesson reading. Keeping our thoughts in the right place. What a wonderful day to have these thoughts to keep us focused.
A very careful and thoughtful way to begin our day. How blessed we are Evan to have you guiding our pathway.
Thank you Evan and contributors. Lovely poem Maximo. 🙂
What I really love about this is that Jesus trusted God, good completely. Even though all the material senses were saying, “this doesn’t sound like a good idea, are you sure about this?”, Jesus trusted God. The material senses didn’t have all the facts or know the truth about life even though they were convinced they did. And, death and material beliefs were disproved as nothing. Wow! The five senses were proved to be liars and life was proved to be eternal, spiritual, not material. What a beautiful demonstration!
If trials are proof of God’s care a friend reasoned the desire for God to care less. However, it’s the overcoming of trials that proves God’s care. Thank to all who have taken the time to comment.
What profound ideas to ponder today! I too love the closing line of your blog today, Evan.
God’s plan for you is to thrive in Spirit. Never to suffer in matter (God knows nothing of matter, does He?) Grateful for your generous heart’s overflow today, Evan.
And Maximo, your poem is indeed beautiful. Thank you for sharing that.
Joy to the world! The Christ is here!
What a great way to think of the material presentation of suffering. We must go up higher.
Oh yes, Evan, thank you very much for today`s SpiritView.
Thats our aim to do according to God`s plan, namely striving in Spirit.
Actually we cannot do else then this as God`s dear reflection.
Am so grateful for learning more and more in CS specially also thanks to Evan`s so inspired SV`s.
Thanks all dear commentors for your wonderful comments! 🙂
Valid and appreciated comments as we approach Christmas. Thank you Evan and others.
Thanks, all. I needed a little inspiration and didn’t check SpiritView in the morning as I usually do. I feel more energized now, so thank you all. Speaking of “Trials are proofs of God’s care:” I was told to think of them like the Olympic trials. Those trials are times for the athletes to show what they can do, to prove their capabilities, So the trials that come into our lives are times for us to prove our confidence in God’s care. And we know He never fails.
It’s hard to comprehend that the sin of life in matter was what Jesus was suffering from since he had raised the dead and healed all manner of beliefs of life in matter prior to the garden experience. It always seemed to me that he dreaded this upcoming humiliation of crucifixion and was hoping for a more pleasant way?? of demonstrating life in spirit to the unenlightened or perhaps a more unselfed attitude was required??
Hi Richard,
To understand Jesus’ struggle in the garden, it’s helpful for me to remember the distinction between the son of man and the Son of God. Jesus, the human, was the son of man. Christ, the Son of God, represented by Jesus, but was never in the flesh. It was Spirit expressed through the life and works of Jesus Christ. The son of man suffered. The Son of God never suffered. For Jesus to show humanity all the way to the perfect Son of God, the human had to be parted with. That was the temporary struggle he went through, and the reason he ended the struggle with the words, “Not my will, but Thine be done.” It was a total yielding of the human sense to the divine sense. The son of man yielding to the Son of God. And then the struggle ended.
Once went to a Watch night service at an Episcopalian Church. The vicar described how much suffering Mary had to go through while giving birth to Jesus. Not a joyful message on Christnas Eve. Thanks Evan for highlighting man’s sinless existence in Spirit.