There is a time in the life of Jesus Christ where my appreciation and love for our Heavenly Father knows no bounds.
This beloved Son has never once sinned. Never. He does not understand what it means to sin. He cannot comprehend until the moment He walks into the Garden of Gethsemane what one little sin can do to a person. All at once the realization of what He is being asked to do begins to settle upon His mind, and He calls out, “Father, I think this is going to be a lot harder than I could have imagined. Please, if it’s at all possible, let this part pass.”
Perhaps the Father’s perfect Son is now frightened by what He is being asked. We do not know. It is only in empathizing with our elder brother, in trying to imagine just a little of what agony the weight of sin had already placed upon Him, that we can even begin to appreciate His next words: “Nevertheless, not as I wilt, but as thou wilt” (Matthew 26:39).
Up in a world of spirits stood a Father who must have been in agony himself. Have any of you thought even for a moment what watching this scene must have been like for Him? As He watched His perfect Son writhe in anguish, did He wish to call out, to bend to His Son’s wishes, to stop the pain? Was His hand stretched out, shaking, wishing He could do just that?
The Father would not stop what was happening, but He could give His Son some form of comfort. He sent an angel, perhaps one of Christ’s greatest friends, down to give Him what little support could be offered. Still, it wasn’t enough.
The time came when Christ would be asked to endure more than even He thought possible. Not only was the angel’s presence withdrawn, but the Father pulled His own Spirit and influence away as well. I cannot begin to imagine the shock this must have been to a Son who had never, in His entire life, gone without the influence of His Father.
What a joy it must have been for both when the Holy Spirit and influence of the Father was restored. Never does one appreciate the blessings in one’s life until those blessings have been taken away.
Surely this should have been enough. Hadn’t Christ just endured all that would be required? Could not the Father now take His Son up to Him, satisfied that all had been accomplished?
We all know it was not enough. Still the Father watched on as His Son was brutally beaten, mocked by those who simply could not comprehend, nailed to a cross, and hung. Surely the Father desired to send legions of angels to stop the cruelty, to at last allow His perfect Son to be at peace. Instead, the Father knew the mission was not complete. Once again He needed to take His influence away from His Son. Is it any wonder, after all that He had endured, Jesus the Christ yelled out in agony, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46.)
How the Father’s heart must have torn at those words. They were not a condemnation, but a desperate cry from a Son to His Father.
There is a moment I like to ponder on, as perhaps only a parent can. Christ has given up the ghost, and returned to the spirit world, where He is embraced by friends and family who have gone before. His body is no longer in pain. What do you think our Heavenly Father was thinking at that point? Was He grateful for the little time it took for the resurrection and ascension to calm His trembling hands, to wipe His tears, before finally being able to take His Son up into His arms and hold on to His tight? Was His voice choked as He patted His Son on the back and whispered, “Well done, my good and faithful servant”?
Jeffrey R. Holland, a latter-day Apostle and member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (nicknamed the Mormon Church), spoke on this very thing.
“[The Father] endured what He saw because it was the only way that a saving, vicarious payment could be made for the sins of all His other children, from Adam and Eve to the end of the world. I am eternally grateful for a perfect Father and His perfect Son, neither of whom shrank from the bitter cup nor forsook the rest of us who are imperfect, who fall short and stumble, who too often miss the mark” (Jeffrey R. Holland, “The Hands of the Fathers,” Ensign, May 1999).
As we come to celebrate Father’s Day, take some time to recognize what it is our Father sacrificed that day, but don’t stop there. If you have never realized it before, it is time to recognize it now. He allowed all of this to happen because He loves each and every one of us so very much. We are not perfect. We will never be asked to go through what Christ went through. Yet the Father loved all of us so much, that He sacrificed His only perfect child so that we can all come back to live with Him someday.
What a remarkable Father.
