The Crisis of the Father's Love
Greetings and good morning brothers and sisters. This is Dr. James Perry continuing with our series
where we seek to explore the deeper meanings of our relationship with Jesus Christ. Over the years,
the heavenly Father has revealed many revelations of spiritual truth to me, and I want to share them
with you. This morning we will ponder our lives as we seek to understand the crisis of the Father's
love.
And now, sit back and listen to today's message.
The Crisis of the Father's Love
"And he went a little farther, and fell upon his face, and prayed, saying, 'Oh, my Father! If it
be possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt.'" Matthew,
Chapter 26, Verse 39.
Brothers and sisters, in the normal course of living, we often find ourselves in a crisis. This crisis
invariably involves pursuing the course that is well known and familiar but which is beginning to
disintegrate, all the spiritual meanings and values having been exhausted and the new and unknown
values requiring a greater expenditure of faith and trust. When confronted with such a monumental
and often emotionally disagreeable situation, conflict arises in our minds and souls. When attempting
to resolve such a conflict, it is often helpful to review the life of Jesus.
In the course of pursuing the Father's will while in the flesh, Jesus finally confronted that experience
which was required for him to continue doing the Father's will. Jesus submitted to a cruel death. This
was hard for Jesus, humanly speaking. Material life is very precious and Jesus was human as well as
divine. Being human, He sought to find a way out of this dilemma. This was the final test for the
human Jesus. Would he submit to this cruel death? During those lonely hours of that early morning,
Jesus suffered tremendously. Great drops of sweat oozing like blood fell from him.
But as he continued to pray, it became apparent to his human mind that the Father wanted him to pass
through this experience. No! The human Jesus did no want to die, but his desire to do the Father's will
was greater than his desire for mortal survival. He realized that he could remain true to the Father's
will only by submitting.
Since the religious authorities were determined that he should die since he would not abandon his
work, the only way to remain true to his mission was to die. Even in that dying was he to reveal the
Father's love and the Son's mercy, which was so eloquently illustrated in his prayer from the cross:
"Father forgive them for they know not what they do." This was the triumph and display of supreme
faith and trust in the human mind of Jesus. And even today, he continues to urge us to submit and
master the crises of life by submitting to the Father's will.
When we are confronted with a new and difficult experience, we should first try our best to discern
the factors of goodness in it, even though we may feel what we are already doing is good. From a
spiritual point of view, the new experience will be better. But there are times when a prospective
experience is not good, and we must have the courage to decline the experience. If we must sacrifice
all that is true, beautiful and good in the Father's love in traversing such an experience then we should
not go; on the other hand, if by not going, we sacrifice truth, and beauty, and goodness in the Father's
love, then we should go.
In all such cases, we should determine if it is the Father's will that we submit to the experience. As
we contemplate the pros and cons of undergoing such an experience during worshipful prayer, we
examine our motive for doing the Father's will. Had we merely espoused the doing of the Father's will
to escape from the harsh reality of our lives? Had we resorted to doing the Father's will in a vain effort
to protect against these upheavals? Had we tried to avoid the intense struggles of progressive reality?
Were we being confronted with the very thing that we tried to avoid by doing the Father's will, or had
we dedicated ourself to doing the Father's will because of our undying love for truth, beauty, and
goodness? Had we resolved to go through any and all experiences that conceal truth, beauty, and
goodness? During this process of reflection and review, the Spirit of Truth guides our decisions by
impressing upon us those factors that carry more weight in the final decision. The Spirit of Truth
always cries at such times of crises, "This is the way, the truth and the life." We finally submit to the
Father's will, fully confident of our spiritual success.
This concludes today's message on understanding the crisis of the Father's love. We hope you find
something in this message to ponder and pray about as you go about your day. Until next time, this
is Dr. James Perry
Inspirational Messages
By Dr. James Perry
Your Kingdom Come, Your Will Be Done!
The Crisis of the Father's Love
