"Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me:  
nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done." - Luke 22:42

"No."  That's the response that I gave the telemarketer who called my home and asked if I would be interested in obtaining some additional life insurance.  It's also how I responded at the campground when asked if I would be needing to stay an extra night.  When my wife questioned me, "You won't forget, will you?"  I confidently said, "No."  Then, there was the time the cashier at the convenience store tried to sell me a lottery ticket.  Again I replied, "No."  The last time my nephew asked to stay the night at our house, after my mom asked me if I remembered to typeset her friend's book, when my (wonderful and loving) wife asked me to feed the cat, when the cat tried to climb my back...all of these things were met with the same reply from my mouth, "No."

As I thought about some of these instances, a question came to my mind, "How can people possibly say "No" to Jesus.  My father continues to reject the Lord.  I just cannot understand it.  He knows that if he dies he would spend eternity in hell.  He knows that Christ died for his sins.  He knows that Jesus offers forgiveness to all who will receive it...and, yet, he continues to reject Him.  "How can people possibly say "No" to Jesus," I wondered.

As I thought about that tonight, God spoke to my heart.  I'll ask you the same question that He asked me... "How many times have you said, "No" to Jesus?"

How many times has He told us to share our faith with someone, but because we felt uncomfortable, we didn't obey Him?  How many times did He tell us to love one another, but because we were angry, we said and did things we shouldn't have done?  How often does He remind us to spend time in prayer and Bible reading, but because we are "busy", we neglect Him?  In any given day, how many times do we feel His Holy Spirit instructing us, only to quenche the Spirit and do things our own way?

How many times have you said, "No" to Jesus?

Tears began to fill my eyes as I realized that it was far too often that I had said "No" to the Lord.  What hurt me even more was the vivid picture I see of Jesus in Luke 22:42.  "Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me:  nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done."  I can't help but think as He knelt there to pray, the Lord must have known about all of the times that we would refuse to obey, the times we would run away in rebellion, the times we would be ungrateful for what was about to happen.  You see, Jesus knew what was coming.  He knew that He was going to be beaten, mocked and nailed physically to a rugged cross.  He saw the hammer, He saw the nails.  As He prayed in the garden He could sense the pain of those nails ripping His flesh and the thorns piercing His brow.  Jesus saw the forthcoming separation from the Father as the sins of the world were placed upon Him.  

He saw a scene so gruesome, so horrible that it would turn most of our stomachs to watch it.  And He saw me.  And He saw you.  And He saw our sins.  And love filled His heart.  

And He didn't say, "No."

His love was more than the pain, His sacrifice was greater than our sins.  He took the cup from His Father and gave Himself willingly that you and I might be saved.

Christian, this morning a cup sits before you.  It's the cup that He has placed upon your life.  Even today there is something that He has called you to do...some lost soul to witness to, some disheartened believer to encouraged, some prayer to pray, some work to do, some ministry to perform.  There is some relationship to get right, some ill will to get rid of, some sin to overcome.  There is a cup before you.  Many will pray about that cup, "Father, remove this cup from me,"  but how many will pray, "not my will, by thine, be done."

As the Spirit leads you today, as you are instructed by the Lord, take a fresh look at Calvary and remember that Jesus didn't say, "No."