Nicholas Pumper Art

Many depictions of Jesus’ agony in the garden, before His crucifixion, are of Him silently praying. While He was fully God, He was fully human as well. He felt all that we felt, and He begged His Father for their to be another way for His will to be done. God came to Earth and humbled Himself so much He became one of us, taking on all of the good feelings, as well as the bad. Considering that Jesus sweated blood during this time, which is an actual medical condition that occurs in people under excruciating stress, I have a sincere doubt He merely had a frown on His face.

In my own times of emotional agony, the pain convulses through your body, leaving you little control. It is as if someone is physically lashing at you or stabbing you. I find great comfort in that God took on our hardest emotions as well, and despite all His power, did not exempt Himself from it. 

Many describe a “coming to Jesus” moment as one where “they saw the light” and they were filled with great joy. My conversion was not this. It took years. It was pain that made me feel alienated from everyone else.

But with Him, I need nothing else.