By: Obed Pineda
Of the many fond memories stored in the banks of my mind about my late uncle, I admit that my favorite ones are of when we worked together on the first car I ever owned. Undeniably, one of the reasons I cherish those memories is because of the lessons he taught me about cars. Lessons that have proven to be valuable on several occasions when I am able to identify and fix certain problems on my vehicles today. Whenever I am able to do so, a smile comes across my lips at the realization that I learned more than I thought from him, but a deep sense of gratitude toward my uncle for teaching me presents itself in me as well. Admittedly, I am no where near my uncle’s level of expertise, but what little I was able to acquire from his teachings has always been essential on improving the quality of performance from my cars; no matter how old they may be. These series of instructions, I recall, began with making me comprehend how preventative maintenance is the key component of attaining the best performance from any vehicle. Always, he would preach to me to check the fluid levels of the car and not allow them to run dry, to change the motor and transmission oils when they were due, to balance and rotate the tires, and if the wheels required aligning, to take care of it immediately. The explanation he would always give as to why doing these things were crucial was because it helped preserve the vehicle and could warn you ahead of time if something was in danger of breaking down. He would always tell me that the key to preventing a costly repair was by keeping up with the car’s routine maintenance. Although my uncle passed on this wisdom in regards to the preservation of a vehicle, the truth is that this is just as essential in all aspects of life; especially in the preservation of our inward man. The night the Master was betrayed by one of His twelve, He evinced this valuable teaching in example and by exhortation. When Jesus arrived Gethsemane, “He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. Then He said to them, ‘My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.’ He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed” (Matthew 26:37-39a, emphasis added). Due to the gruesome nature of what our Lord was about to insure, His wisdom radiates in the actions He took to insure He was fully prepared for what came next. Peter, who accompanied the Redeemer in the garden, points out that “since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind” (1st Peter 4:1, emphasis added). The inspired Peter invites his fellow brothers and sisters in the faith to follow the example set forth by Jesus prior to being hung on the cross. The example the inspired apostle alludes to is the mental, emotional, and spiritual preparation Jesus acquired at Gethsemane by watching and praying. The inspired Matthew details that Christ “began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed” as the hour neared. Thus, the Lord Jesus found it necessary to temper these emotions before they became unhinged. The Savior understood well how unchecked emotions can often lead to rash and unwise decisions. Jesus was cognizant of Solomon’s caution that “A quick-tempered man acts foolishly” and assurance that “He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city” (Proverbs 14:17a and 16:32, emphasis added). The veracity of these two proverbs is quickly proven when we recall Jesus’ reprieve of Peter’s emotional reaction when the soldiers arrived to arrest His Master (Matthew 26:48-54, John 18:10-11). Peter’s instinctual reaction blocked his understanding of what Jesus had been teaching them that entire night. His lack of self-control hindered his spiritual reason from functioning properly. The Lord, on the other hand, secured his heart by consulting His Father in prayer. It is imperative to acknowledge that Jesus did not avoid His emotions; He poured them out to His disciples and to His Father. Like He did not allow them to interrupt His understanding, He also did not allow them to fester and taint His heart through silence. Once again, Matthew and Mark both expound that Jesus spoke, saying, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death” (Matthew 26:38, Mark 14:34). The purpose of the Lord to utter His sincere feelings to Peter, James, and John was not to scare them or to be pitied by them. He was reaching out to His friends and asking them to join Him in His hour of need. The Lord surrounded Himself with loyal friends again proving that “as iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend” because “better is a neighbor nearby than a brother far away” (Proverbs 27:17, 10, emphasis added). Even though it was His body that would be nailed to that cross, Christ sought His beloved’s help in bearing its emotional weight with Him. Christ enlisted the aid of His closest friends, similar to Moses who acquired assistance from Aaron and Hur to uphold his arms to secure Joshua’s victory over the Amalekites (Exodus 17:8-13). Regrettably, it is not uncommon for a leader (husband, father, teacher, evangelist, or elder) to believe that the brunt of the problem must be carried alone to avoid bringing harm to those around him. However, in the paradigm molded after Jesus, it is revealed that a sage leader seeks out support and aid from his strongest and closest, trusting in their strength not to crumble under the pressure. Hence Paul’s exhortation, “bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2, emphasis added). Even so, the Lord’s preparation was not done with solely tempering His heart (mental preparation) and surrounding Himself with true friends (emotional preparation); He, too, prepared Himself spiritually by prayer. Christ instructed Peter, “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41, emphasis added). It is well documented that Jesus never taught something, He Himself did not practice. Thus, in this lesson, the Lord was not only urging Peter to fortify his inner man, but He unveils that He was praying for the same reason. This becomes abundantly clear when one recalls what the Savior’s petition to His Father was (Matthew 26:39, 42). The Hebrew writer corroborates that Jesus “was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin” and became “the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame” (Hebrews 4:15b, 12:2a, emphasis added). The Lord never lost sight of the goal that had been set before Him. It is why He took the necessary steps to prepare Him fully to secure that He would follow through to the very end of His celestial mission. Our great Redeemer, by watching and praying, practiced preventative maintenance to His inner man to accomplish mankind’s salvation. Having the glorious ensample left by Him, it is truly valuable for us, His church, to always follow suit. It is for this reason, that Paul undoubtedly cautions, “let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall” (1st Corinthians 10:12, emphasis added).