Is there any other way?

        One of the beautiful things about the Bible are the lessons it offers to those who choose to study it, lessons about doing life as a God fearing Christ follower.  One such lesson played out in the hours before Jesus was taken to be nailed to the cross, the act which represents our salvation.  He died, we were saved.  The particular lesson was when He went off by himself in those hours to pray (something He often did), and it was the time in His darkest hour when He asked God "Is there any other way?"  The rest is history.  There was no other way.  He had to die on the cross to take our sins.

           What are the lessons each of us can learn from that short example?

• Jesus questioned God, and God answered.
• We, in our darkest times can question God.  He will answer
• Jesus trusted God's response and acted on faith that God was right.
• We can trust God and act on faith that God knows what is right for us.
• Jesus followed through because He knew that God's plan was more important than His.
• We can follow through if we trust that God's plan for us will be better than our plan.

           When it comes right down to it, how good are our plans for our lives in the grand scheme of things?  If we're Christ followers do we cherry pick those things that we know are of God's nudging so that we will minimize any possible discomfort to ourselves?  Or, are we all in with full faith and trust, knowing that whatever His nudges are, wherever they lead us, and whatever we find ourselves doing as a result, we are doing it for Him?  The pivotal point comes when we ask "Is there any other way?" and act out of faith and trust in His answer--and it could be one that we least expect.

Bottom Line Thought:  What would your life be like if God had answered Jesus by saying "Yes, Son, I've thought this over now that you brought it up, and I've decided that you should just go about your life doing what you love best?"