Have you ever done something you didn't want to do out of love for another person? I'm going to bet that you have. And when you did, it was a beautiful witness of sacrificial love.
Scripture tells us that Jesus laid aside His glory and power (Phil 2:7) when He became a man. He did this willingly, knowing the purpose of His earthly time from the drawing of His first breath.
He knew it when satan tempted Him in the desert, offering Him the Kingdom without the pain of the cross. (Matt 4:8) And He knew it that night in the garden when He asked the Father to spare Him. (Mar 14:36)
More than the manger, the garden shows me the fullness of Christ's manhood. No sane person would submit to the torture of the cross without first determining that there was no other way. Gethsemane shows me the sanity of my Savior.
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