At the sixth hour darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Mark 15:33-34
Jesus was God, but He was also fully human. He had a human body, a human mind, human limitations, and human emotions. The Gospels tell the story of Jesus’ life and ministry, and they reveal many of these emotions. Emotions that we are all familiar with like joy, love, and compassion, along with anger, frustration, sorrow, and loneliness.
In the middle of a crisis have you ever thought, ‘God, where are you? Why have you let this happen to me? Why have you left me all alone in this?’ Jesus did. And He didn’t just think it; He shouted it for all to hear!
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
He said this while hanging on the cross, and I’m sure I would have said the same. But had God really abandoned His Son? I don’t think so. Jesus felt alone, but He wasn’t. And He knew that. He knew the truth:
I have set the LORD always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken...my body will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay...For he has not despised or disdained the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help. (Psalm 16:8-10; 22:24)
In the middle of great trials, confusing circumstances, and everyday life, my thoughts can become overcome with feelings of abandonment and aloneness. I feel like no one can possibly understand what I'm going through, and God is nowhere to be found. His promises seem false. He has failed me.
But just because I think that, doesn’t make it true. God does not forsake us. He does not forget. He does not leave. How did Jesus overcome such a time of wrong thinking? He believed the truth. He trusted God. In the middle of the darkness, He believed He would still be heard. With a loud cry he breathed his last.
God will sometimes take us to that point where He is all we have left and crying out to Him is our only hope. But the key is to remember: He is our hope. He is there. He is over it. And we are never alone.
Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer. From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe. I long to dwell in your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of your wings. Psalm 61:1-4
2 comments:
Melanie,
What is your take on sin? Here's what I mean: We know from scriptures that the wages of sin is death. I have been taught that this essentially means separation from God for all eternity for those who die in sin. If sin separates us from God, then doesn't it makes sense that when Christ took our sin upon himself that he WOULD be separated from God?
I believe this is what man teaches, but not what the Bible teaches. When Jesus died on the cross, He wasn't separated from God. He said to the criminal being crucified with Him, 'Today you will be with me in Paradise." And to God He said, "Father, into your hands, I commit my spirit."
'The wages of sin is death' in Romans 6:23 may mean that because of our sinful condition, we all die a natural death, 'but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.' By His death and resurrection, Jesus proved that death is not the final destination. Yes, we all die, but we will be with Him in Paradise.
If you look at Romans 6:23 in context, however, I don't think Paul is talking about physical death, but rather a spiritual death from the result of being 'slaves to sin'. Slaves do not live a life of freedom but are under the power and control of another. So it is with sin. Paul says in verse 20, 'When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. What did that get you? Death!" They were still very much alive, but they were already experiencing the wages of sin. In verse 22, however, he says, 'But now that you have been set free from sin...the result is eternal life.' He wasn't talking about a future in Paradise, he was talking about the life they could have by being slaves to righteousness leading to holiness--and the sharp contrast of that to living a life of sin, which is not life at all.
I think it's interesting that something Jesus did to demonstrate God's love for us and God's power over sin and death can be used to build a whole theology that we can be eternally separated from God. God is love. He demonstrated His mercy over and over again in Scripture. In dying on the cross, Jesus was not allowing Himself to be separated from God through physical death, He was proving that there is no such thing.
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