The Hand We can Trust

April 14, 1995

"Father, into thy hand I commend my spirit ..." Luke 23:46

On the Cross of Calvary we see both the deity and the humanity of our Lord. As our Savior and Redeemer we believe that he finished the work of salvation, and accomplished a work which we cannot ever comprehend. We weakly address the "what" and the "why" and the "how" of what Jesus did on the Cross, and we speak of substitution and redemption and ransom-- we say that "Jesus paid it all!" And certainly he did! but we will never understand fully how-- or even why. His love for us in wonderful, and totally undeserved. All we can hope to do is receive it, and let it begin to transform us, and try to return it as best we can.

But as a man Jesus gave us a Pattern and Example to follow. We cannot fully grasp this side of Jesus, either, perhaps. And we will not be able to do it quite as well as He did it. But Jesus in his humanity lived among us in dependance on the heavenly Father. He was God, and yet as man he lived by prayer. Jesus never made a decision without spending time in prayer. He was Almighty, and yet he asked his disciples to watch with him in his hour of agony. He responded with gratitude when favors were done for him. He resisted temptation, not by divine destruction of the tempter, but, by living by the written word of God: "It is written!" he said.

On the cross we saw his humanity as he cried out not only "It is finished!" but "I am thirsty!" And in the final moment of His death he not only said. "My God, WHY?" as the sin-sacrifice, but he said these wonderful words of trust:

"Father-- into your hand I commit my spirit!"

... and Jesus bowed his head and died.

As our Savior Jesus has opened a way for us to connect with God and receive eternal life. But as our Brother Jesus has shown us how to connect with God in trust for day-by-day living. Jesus has shown us that when temptation would overwhelm us we have resources of scripture and prayer and fellowship. Jesus has shown us that it is all right to feel lonely, or tired, or even at times to wonder if anyone else is listening to the truth. And finally, Jesus has shown us that we die as we live. If we have put our lives into the Father's trust, then we can trust Him with our spirit when night falls, and we cannot go on. A few years ago my grandson, Ben, went to his first hockey game. His birthday is tomorrow, and he'll be nine years old; he is a Hockey Mite, and his name is in the Quincy Sun often as a scorer. (Granddad isn't too proud, I hope!)

But the Garden and the Bruins were a little much for a five year old. Tickets were courtesy of an uncle-- but they needed a parking space; Ben spontaneously began to pray for one-- immediately they saw a sign "Parking!" Just $9.00!! Oh, well, Ben hadn't specified FREE parking.

Anyway, Ben and Steve, his dad, found their seats and Ben made friends with all the people around him. He thought the Garden was sort of like church, I guess. We should be friendly here, shouldn't we? He offered to share his popcorn-- and he even watch a little of the game.

But about the middle of the first period Ben begn to flame out. The excitement ran its course and his eyelids began to droop. Finally he put his head in his dad's lap-- and his feet in the lap of the lady on the other side-- she didn't seem to mind-- and he was GONE! Somehow Steve thought he ought to go on home right about then, and there were two empty seats the rest of the game.

And Ben never woke up as his dad carried him out of the Garden and back to the $9.00 parking lot and back home and to bed. When he opened his eyes again it was morning, and Ben was home. It is wonderful, a sort of miracle that little kids know and we only vaguely remember-- that wherever it is they happen to fall asleep if it is away from home-- they wake up where they belong, in their own beds.

And that is the trust a Christian can have. That is the trust that Jesus was manifesting that dreadful, wonderful day when as our Champion he won our eternal life, and defeated death and hell. For as our Brother Jesus was showing us that we can trust our dying into the hands of a loving Father.

We know that if we go to sleep before the ballgame is over, we will wake up at home.