Into Your Hands

She was perched on the couch. “Catch me, daddy!” She leaped into my arms. Man, was I scared. My daughter demonstrated faith and trust in me as her dad. She just knew I would catch her. I wasn’t so sure. She has known from very early that I love her and that I have her best interest in mind. It is quite a realization to know that someone has that kind of trust in you.

Jesus trusted his Father in a similar manner. Let’s look at Luke 23:44-46.

Jesus knew early on that he would have to go to the cross. The idea didn’t exactly fill Jesus with warm fuzzies. In the previous chapter of Luke, he prayed that God would “take this cup away from” him. He knew he had to do it, but that didn’t make the prospect of having rusty nails driven through his hands and feet any easier to swallow. He did do it willingly.

I remember eating green bean when I was a kid. I didn’t like ‘em, and I didn’t eat ‘em willingly. Thankfully, Jesus didn’t have that attitude toward the cross. He had seen human suffering at its worst. He had felt the need of the desperate woman whose fingertips brushed the hem of his robe. He felt the thirst of the Samaritan woman by the side of the well. He felt the shame of the woman caught in adultery. He felt the loneliness of the blind man. He felt the isolation of the lepers. Even more, he felt the impending doom of those born in a world torn to shreds by sin. He saw the snooty pious arrogance of the so-called religious leaders of the day and knew they would be of no help. As a result, he could only do one thing. He could have avoided it, but he chose, out of a heart of compassion, to go through with it. The hymn writer captured it well:

He could have called ten thousand angels to destroy the world and set him free.

He could have called ten thousand angels, but he died alone for you and me.

This was the final obedient act of Jesus’ earthly ministry. He entrusted his life to the Father at the end. He was obedient to the very end. There was never a question in his mind that he was doing the right thing. He trusted his Father’s wisdom. This was the only way to bring healing to the human race. The brokenness of the Samaritan woman and millions like her could be fixed.

Jesus laid his life in the hands of the Father. Do we trust in the Father’s plan they way Jesus did? Can we jump off the couch knowing our Father will catch us?

Jesus is often held up as our example in prayer, service and treatment of outcasts. All those things are great, but we should also follow his example of trust in the Father. Can we say at those times of stress or uncertainty, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”