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[imageeffect type="shadowreflection" align="aligncenter" width="542" alt="Abandoned" link="https://www.tworiversassembly.com/tworiversassembly2014/2013/04/30/abandoned/" url="http://tworiversblog.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/will-smith-jaden-smith-the-pursuit-of-happyness-fresh-hd-wallpaper.jpg?w=236&h=300" ]

Abandoned

Read: Numbers 15:17-16:40, Mark 15:1-47, Psalm 54:1-7, Proverbs 11:5-6

 

Then at three o’clock Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” (Mark 15:34)

Abandoned

Relate: “I met my father for the first time when I was 28 years old. I made up my mind that when I had children, my children were going to know who their father was.” That’s Will Smith, I mean Christopher Gardner, in the Pursuit of Happyness. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a movie that better shows the love and relationship of a father and son. Christopher is living the life of a modern day Job. He loses his house, his wife, his car. He is a failure at his job. All he has left is his son, and a competitive unpaid internship with Dean Witter. To show the bond between the father and son while he tries to balance starting a new life, homelessness, and fatherhood is absolutely heart wrenching. This clip shows the moment when he has hit rock bottom:

[videoembed type=”youtube” width=”660″ height=”440″ url=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkjFDx2Tv_g” id=”0″]

Imagine if, at that point, Chris got up and just left his son there in the bathroom floor. Imagine him walking out and leaving him all alone. Every good relationship we have is a poor reflection of the relationship we can have with our heavenly Father. Even more, because He was sinless, Jesus had that perfect relationship with His Father like we will only experience one day in heaven. Imagine the perfect communion, the complete unity they had. And then, one day… no, not just one day. At worst possible moment of the worst day anyone could possibly have, that relationship is severed.

React: My dad died suddenly when I was nineteen. There were a few different friends who approached me at that time who had also lost their father. Far, far more were those who never met their dad or whose father had walked out of their life at some point in the past. I have met those who have been abused or have been unspeakably scarred by the actions of the very man who should have been loving and protecting them the most. There have been times when the felt loss of my dad made me feel like I had been abandoned. I can only imagine how much greater that pain must be for those who literally have. Jesus doesn’t have to imagine. He was there. My sin severed His relationship to His dad.

Respond: [videoembed type=”youtube” width=”660″ height=”440″ url=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rLHjXd4kc4″ id=”0″]

Father, time and again You have proven to me that You will never abandon me. Others will fail me. Sometimes through their sin, sometimes through the unpredictably and fragility of this thing called life, but You never will. You cannot. You will not. Even when I am faithless, You will remain faithful. In those dark moments deep inside the shell of me, hold me close and whisper Your love. Help me remember that nothing… nothing can pull me from Your love.