Why

The Fourth Word

“My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”  Mark 15:34

Abandonment.

That word sends shivers through me.  It reminds me so much of my past.  It conjures up feelings I had long buried.  It makes me want to cry.  This is my one remaining childhood fear.  All other fears I have managed to expose or overcome.  Not abandonment.  I don’t know if I’ll ever get past that one.  Partly, because I know this life will end for each of us.  I know that one day, my parents will die, and then I, too, will die.  I know that once this life ends for my parents, I will not see them again until my life ends.  I will not know what that looks like until it happens, and so, there is no true way to prepare for it.

I can not imagine waking up one day and my parents not talking to me anymore.  I can’t fathom not being able to call them or drive to their house and see them.  I don’t want to entertain the idea of raising my kids without grandparents who love them, encourage them and support their every endeavor.  And yet, I know that this is what must happen.  It’s reality.

Jesus was sent to be our redeemer.  The only way for us to be saved from our sins, was for Jesus to take that sin upon himself.  From the beginning of the Bible, we learn that sin separates us from God.  Period.  There’s no getting around that fact either.  So to be sin for us, Jesus had to be separated from God.  Now that’s extreme.  John 1 tells us the story of The Word.  “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.  The Word was with God in the beginning.  Everything came into being through the Word, and without the Word nothing came into being.  What came into being through the Word was life, and the life was the light for all people.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness doesn’t extinguish the light.  A man named John was sent from God.  He came as a witness to testify concerning the light, so that through him everyone would believe in the light.  He himself wasn’t the light, but his mission was to testify concerning the light.  The true light shines on all people was coming into the world.  The light was in the world, and the world came into being through the light, but the world didn’t recognize the light.  The light came to his own people, and his own people didn’t welcome him.  But those who did welcome him, those who believed in his name, he authorized to become God’s children,  born not from blood nor from human desire or passion, but born from God.  The Word became flesh and made his home among us.  We have seen his glory, glory like that of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.  John testified about him, crying out,  ‘This is one of whom I said, He who come after me is greater than me because he existed before me.’  From his fullness we have all received grace upon grace; as the Law was given through Moses, so grace and truth came into being through Jesus Christ.  No one has ever seen God.  God the only Son, who is at the Father’s side, has made God known.”

Whew!  So, all that to say, imagine being cut off from that which you are, to save those who have no idea the sacrifice.  Imagine becoming human when you were the ultimate superpower, and taking on human problems when you had zero problems.  Imagine losing everything to gain life everlasting for those which do not understand the value of your sacrifice.  And it must be done.  To save them.

Imagine being abandoned for something you didn’t do.  Imagine being abandoned after you go through hours of torture and shame.  Imagine being totally cut off and separated from everything you knew, everything you valued, everything you are.  Imagine being abandoned by God.

Jesus did it, just for you.  It was the only way to keep you from being abandoned by God for the sins you commit.  Daily.

I don’t know why Jesus asked, “Why?”  I can only speculate.  I’m not sure that will be one of the questions I ask when I stand in the long line in heaven.  I don’t know that I need to know why Jesus asked, “Why?”  I only need to be grateful that he did it for me.  And for you.  Forever.