Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done."
Luke 22:42
A while ago, I made a post Who is Christ to You? In this post was the beginnings of a rough draft for an assignment given by my mission president for Easter. Since then, I have been working on adding and revising it so that I could turn it in today, and I thought I should share. This is part of my testimony of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
Who is Christ to You?
The question Who is Christ to you? has been running through my mind over and over the past few weeks as I have prayed and studied more in depth of Him and as I have asked the people I teach about their own faith in Christ. There are a lot of common answers to the question of who He is--in His day, he was a great leader, a great teacher, and a great example for how we sould all be living our lives. But that doesn't answer the question; who is Christ to me? Why is it important that I know Him? This question calls for deeper thought and more personal application. I know that He suffered and died for me and my sins and overcame death so that I too could return to my Heavenly Father someday, but how does that knowledge change my life today?
First I am taken to His birth. It was a great and miraculous event; the Savior of the world was born. A new star appears, and the angels on high are singing and rejoicing. Each and every one of us were a part of it. We already knew that He was going to redeem us from the sins we hadn't even started to comprehend yet. We knew that He is central to our Heavenly Father's plan for us. And through the account in 3 Nephi 1, we come to learn that He was a Savior from the moment He was born, not just after His Atoning sacrifice was complete. The signs of His birth saved the faithful physically and the doubting spiritually. Though the signs of His presence don't seem quite as obvious today, they are still there. Each day these very same signs save me. Who is Christ to you? runs through my mind again.
Next, I think about Christ's life and ministry. This is where the many common answers of who He is comes from. From a young age, angels ministered to Him and helped Him to know the will of the Father and His role as the Son of God and Savior of the world. He then taught those same things to all who would hear. He was living a perfect life and strived constantly to serve others. He performed many mighty miracles and set the perfect example of the life we need to live to return to Him. There were many who did not agree with His teachings and persecuted him. They were always trying to catch Him in His words, and in turn He taught us to love our enemies. He chose not to give in to what would be a constant temptation to use His power and lash back, something many of us struggle with, and beckoned us to "come, follow me." Who is Christ to you?
Then my mind directs me to the Garden of Gethsemane. Here I picture the Savior, my Savior, suffering agonizing pain beyond compare. Here it is that He suffers to pay the price for my sins. Here it is that He also willingly suffers for my weaknesses, pains, sicknesses, and sorrows. He already knew exactly what I would go through in my life, but He wanted to be able to know in the flesh how to succor me. This great pain was enough to cause Him to bleed from every pore. So much so that He asks, "...if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done (Luke 22:42)." In this His infinite agony, He pushes on and endures because of His love for His Father and for each and every one of us. For me. Again the words Who is Christ to you? flash in my mind.
After His suffering in Gethsemane, He comes out to His apostles, still drenched in blood and completely exhausted, and finds them sleeping for the third time. At this point, He probably had every right to complain or question His apostles and their loyalty to Him. But instead he responds in love and says, "...sleep now, and take your rest...(Matthew 26:45)." If they had only realized what their beloved Master had just experienced, would they have slept? Who is Christ to you? repeats in my head once more. Immediately after that, still drained of energy and having no time to recover or clean up, He is met by a group of people along with Judas Iscariot, one of His closest friends and beloved apostles, and is betrayed for some pieces of silver. He was then led away, as Bruce R. McConkie states, "...with a rope around His neck, as a common criminal, to be judged (The Purifying Power of Gethsemane, April 1985)." He was then taken to places where He would be beaten, mocked, spit upon, and eventually crucified at Calvary. The very people that He had healed and taught now regarded Him as something for naught and tortured Him. In these truly agonizing moments, did He think of Himself? No. Not even one complaint. Like always, He was thinking of you and I in our moments of trial. Suddenly this great Atonement becomes a lot more personal. The question Who is Christ to you? continues to take over my thoughts.
And finally, my mind takes me to the empty tomb. The glorious day when Christ's resurrection that had been prophesied for centuries finally became an actuality. The bands of death have been broken, and the debt of the world repaid. Those who were once lost because of their imperfections could now become perfected through their belief on His name and their faith in the very one who gave His life as a ransom for their sins. This infinite and everlasting Atonement didn't just those who lived before and during Christ's time--centuries later, you and I can still benefit from the life of our Savior today.
Knowledge of all of these things is wonderful. It helps us to better understand our Redeemer, and helps us to know how to better follow His example. However, even knowing all of this is not enough--it can't be enough. After everything He has gone through, we cannot accept having a simple passive belief and knowledge of Him. It still requires more personal application to our lives. Again the question Who is Christ to you? races through my thoughts.
We all have our own personal struggles and trials in our lives that weigh us down in one way or another. Just as my mind had previously taken me to the Garden of Gethsemane and to the cross of Calvary, it now takes me to my most agonizing moment--the moment I was enduring my own Gethsemane. The moment in which I felt completely and utterly alone. The moment when I myself felt like I had been forsaken and had let dark, destructive thoughts enter my mind. The moment when I really started to wonder if it was all worth it. I knew I didn't have the strength to overcome this moment alone, a realization many of us come to as we face our most difficult moments. My heart was pleading for help as these inner struggles were starting to pull me down into the depths of despair.
In that very same moment, I remembered the things I had been taught for as long as I could remember; I remembered learning about Christ, and that He had suffered all things alone so that I wouldn't have to. Suddenly the darkness in my mind was dispelled as the light took over and I felt the warmth of His loving embrace. I was strengthened and freed from my personal torments and remembered my purpose as a daughter of God. There are not enough words to express the gratitude and relief that I felt.
We are never alone! I know that as the Savior has overcome the bands of sin and death, so can we all as we believe in Him and apply the great gift of the Atonement He has given us. There is no need for us to continue to suffer and carry the weight of the world on our shoulders. We are precious sons and daughters of a loving Heavenly Father who wants us to be happy and has provided a way for us to do so through His Beloved Son. Through this gift we have the ability to become better people every day and become more perfected in and through Christ. This is why I want to strive to do my best daily to share my knowledge of Him with everyone. There are many who are struggling in the darkness, searching for the light to come and save them. It is up to those of us to know to share that light. I love this gospel and my Savior with all my heart. No longer will I wonder what the answer to this question is for me. Who is Christ to you?
No comments:
Post a Comment