Throughout our tour of Jerusalem, we realized that the atmosphere and landscape of the sites were not even close to what we had imagined... until we arrived in the Garden of Gethsemane.
It was as if we had traveled back in time. We could actually visualize Jesus telling Peter, James and John to "sit here, while I go over there and pray" (Matthew 26:37). In this peaceful setting, Jesus falls to his face and prays to his Father. "My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will" (39).
Peter and the brothers fall asleep while they are supposed to be keeping watch... not one, not two, but three times. You know Jesus' frustration with the guys had to be pretty heated by that point. However, in all fairness to the disciples, look at these trees!! Who wouldn't want to curl up in the little nooks of the olive tree's massive trunk?
We seem to bash Peter a lot for his mistakes of sleeping, not having enough faith, etc., but he was a fleshly human being just like the rest of us. How often is it that we beg for a few more minutes of sleep in the mornings, sacrificing the time we could be spending with our Savior? We miss so much life and freedom that Christ desires to offer us because we succumb to temptation, to our flesh.
One of our new favorite songs is "Slumber" by Needtobreathe (video at bottom of post). The first stanza goes like this:
Days, they force you back under those covers,
lazy mornings; they multiply.
Glory's waiting outside your windows.
Wake on up from your slumber, baby open up your eyes.
Don't miss out on the blessings and adventures God has waiting for you because you sleep through life. JD and I are consistently guilty of doing this but we praise Jesus in the fact that He draws us back to Him, back to His mercy and His transforming grace.
