Obedience to the Lord

 This week we learned more about the Atonement of Jesus Christ and how it is through Jesus Christ -- and nobody or nothing else -- that we are ultimately saved. This caused me to reflect on how wonderful it is that Christ knowingly chose to sacrifice himself for our sake. This scripture stuck out to me as I read in the Book of John this week:

17 Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.

 18 No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.

Jesus Christ was not forced to do what He did for us. He was not tricked or deceived. He knew the entire plan outlined from beginning to end. Jesus knew that it would be difficult and painful. But, He also understood the great eternal consequences of His sacrifice for all of Creation. He knew that it was a commandment from the Father to perform the Atonement for our sins, but the Father still let Him choose if He would do it or not. Nobody truly had the power to kill Christ, but He was able to give up His own life for our cause. He chose to come to Earth and experience a mortal life, though He already lived with God before. He chose to give up his life and experience all human sin, anguish, pain, weakness, doubt, and every other dark experience of mortal life. Because of this choice, Jesus knows us all individually and we are indeed His "sheep", if we will choose to follow Him. 

Jesus Christ also chose to rise and live again and to be resurrected. Because of Him, we will one day do the same. Through His obedience to the Father in completing the Atonement, our salvation is possible. We now must be tested to see if we can use our agency (ability to choose) properly too. We are given commandments of the Father that require sacrifice, persistence, and determination to keep. Our human nature makes this difficult for us and inevitable that we will slip up at times. This is alright! As long as we are firmly anchored in Jesus Christ and follow His example, we can be saved from our fallen state. We must follow His example of obedience to the Father's will. Though it may not always make total sense in the moment, I know that the Lord's will is always far better than our own. I have felt and seen this in my own life that as I choose to do what God would have me do, I am blessed.