Mark 15-16 Abandoned? Your in Good Company

October 22nd, Mark 15-16

forsaken [fəˈseɪkən]     
 adj   completely deserted or helpless; abandoned

for·sake  (fôr-sk, fr-)

tr.v. for·sook (-sk), for·sak·en (-skn), for·sak·ing, for·sakes

1. To give up (something formerly held dear); renounce: 

2. To leave altogether; abandon

       A word that leaves a many-layered look at heartache and pain. This world of heartache and pain is the antithesis of the Kingdom we're invited to and yet the teachable moment in a dark moment is God's desire for His original intention. 

      In case you wondered if God ever "knew what you were going through, consider... Mark 15:34 "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me." We tell stories, make movies about perfect love relationships. They are inspiring, they move us, create in us a longing for such an experience. Whatever love story you've seen...imagine the love that exists between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The close connection the "always there for you" kind of love that exists in perfection. I can't wait to experience that some day.

       But in the order of things in this moment there is something going on that Christ knows intimately. "God made Him who had no sin, to become sin for us..." God and sin don't hang out together, for a moment on the cross, the relationship inside the Holy Trinity exhibits this horrible reality...forsaken, abandoned, renounced, given up, left altogether...

       As much as I'd like to write a great positive paragraph to finish this off, I think maybe it has more value to linger in the weight of it all. When the Bible says that Jesus is familiar with our sorrows, it actually means that and offers a connection to us at the point of our heartache. Let us learn to press in to knowing Christ in moments when we think he doesn't know our hurt.