Desperate times and desperate measures....

Have you ever felt such separation from a loved one that your heart felt like it was physically breaking?  Has the loss of someone dear to you ever hurt so much you cannot even breathe, much less think or actually function?  Have you felt so desperate to say one more thing, feel one more loving touch, give one more hug to someone you cannot live without that your whole body is in pain?

The complete separation of death or divorce is so painful it can cause actual heart break.  People can even die from the stress and pain of losing a loved one.  We see it occasionally with elderly couples who die within days or weeks or maybe a couple months of each other, or with a parent who loses a child.  Debbie Reynolds is but the most recent example of this, when she died just a day after losing her daughter, Carrie Fisher.  They simply cannot go on without that person by their side.  That connection is an amazing testament to the love they shared, and cannot live without.

There was a moment when Jesus was on the cross when he suddenly felt that same complete separation, and the realization washed over him that his father, God, would not be walking with him in death and his battle with Satan.  In Matthew 27:46 we read,

"About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachtani?"  (Which means "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?")

When I was younger, I understood this passage to mean that the extreme pain he was experiencing caused him to feel forsaken.  He had been hanging there for some time, and the nails would have been ripping against his hands and feet causing searing pain, in addition to the blood loss and thirst, which must have been excruciating.  But as I have gotten older, and I have experienced the pain and loss of complete separation in my life, I understand it differently.

I think Jesus could endure the physical pain.  He was prepared for that, and knew that was his fate from the moment of his birth.  He placed his trust in God's plan, and he was set from the beginning to carry that plan out, whatever the cost.

But the loss of God?  I believe that is what caused the real torment.  Separation from his Father in heaven was too much to cope with, and he cried out in desperation to find him again.  He understands our pain from his own experience, because he was deprived of that connection with God, and desperately searching for a way to go through this terrible time with hope.

It is not a small thing, to know that our Savior understands the very human feelings of loss and deprivation that we experience when we lose someone or something we love.  His mortal understanding of our loss uniquely allows him to provide us with support and uplift in the form of family, friends, and even his own presence in the times of greatest desperation.

This most human of moments, shared with us from the cross, reveals a Christ who not only sacrificed his body, but his spirit, for our salvation.  It is incomprehensible to me to know what that loss of the feeling of God must have meant to him, but it is a gift I accept with gratitude and thankfulness.

Today, I am grateful for the human loss Jesus was willing to endure on my behalf.  It is comforting to know that in experiencing the greatest loss of all, God is ready and able to support and understand our losses, as well.  In separating ourselves from him, we cause him the same pain of deprivation that we ourselves feel.  And in finding him again, we give God the same delight we will feel when are reunited with those who have gone before us.

What a glorious day of joy that will be.