I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. (Hebrews 13:5)
This is one of my favorite passages to quote. It gives me great assurance in my daily living. I know without a doubt that Jesus Christ will never abandon me, even despite my own self.
But why am I bringing up this verse? We haven't got to Hebrews yet! Well, I am glad you asked. The truth is, this verse of Scripture carries with it a lot of credibility.
No lets say that I tell you "I will never leave you." How can you be sure? How do you know there is not some possibility that may arise that necessitates me leaving you? How can you be absolutely sure that I will never ever abandon you? Well, you can't. Truthfully, you have to take my word for it. But the promise Jesus gives us is grounded in much more than simple good faith.
Turn to Mark 15:34 and read... "And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"
Now stop to consider that for a moment. Jesus knows exactly what it means to be forsaken. He knows the feeling of being betrayed with a kiss by one of his closest disciples. He experienced lonely abandonment when all of his dear friends and followers ran away to save their own lives in the place of Gethsemane. He felt the sting of being denied three times by peter. But the ultimate feeling of complete abandon took place on the cross when God turned his face away from his own Son. For the first time in the history of eternity, Jesus Christ was separated from the Father.
Jesus tells us he will never do that to us.
And when he gives us this promise we know we can believe him because he has experienced what it is to be forsaken. He is intimately familiar with what it means to be forsaken. It's not just something he is saying; it is surrounded and marinated in experience. He will never forsake us.
Soli Deo Gloria,
Jay Silvas
No comments:
Post a Comment