Pastor (Dr) Evelyn Brisibe
Lord, Lord why has thou forsaken me?
What do you do when emotions are withdrawn from you as penalty of something you did or did not do?
What do you do when this becomes how you are “corrected” to fall in line?”
Is withdrawing emotions that you are supposed to extend to someone, is that the right thing to do?
After Jesus Christ was crucified, for a few hours, he spoke to those around Him giving instructions, welcoming home a son who was lost after he accepted the gift of salvation. Then the agony cry came out from Him, cried “Lord, Lord why has thou forsaken me?” This phrase has been theologically dissected over the years, there has been lots written about that occurrence.
I am going to try to explain its significance as relates to when others forsake you, in the context of relationships and the currency of love, the emotional transaction between people, siblings, parents and children, and married couple.
Jesus Christ knew when the Father forsook Him momentarily on the cross. Some have said that because He had the sins of the whole world on Him so He looked hideous, others have said because the Heavenly Father does not behold iniquity.
One significant occurrence was the tearing of the curtains in the synagogues of worship as this was happening, is it a coincidence that when there was a momentary breakdown between the Father and Son, and the removal of the curtain between them and us, created beings? Some may say this is an oxymoron, and they may be right. However, God is not an Author of confusion. There was a reason for that breakdown between the Father and Son.
After Jesus Christ resurrected, He did not allow anyone to “touch” Him as He had not gone to present Himself to the Father. Why did the reconnection notoccur while in the grave? The Bible was silent on that, one thing was certain, He did go back to up, to the Heavenly Father after His resurrection as witnessed by His followers.
So you may say or think, it is right to withdraw emotions, by shunning or disconnecting from your loved one, since the Heavenly Father did the same to His Only begotten Son, however we only saw it happen once, as recorded in the Bible.
So why do we do it more than once?
The one who is forsaken experiences the agony of separation, as exemplified by the statement by Jesus Christ on the cross, Lord, Lord why has thou forsaken me?!
When you withdraw from others incessantly, it loses its impact.
The one who is shunned finds way to either move on or shrivel.
A few years ago, a dear friend and I, did an experiment with 2 plants. Every day, one of the plant received love through spoken endearing words while the other was shunned, no words or harsh words were spoken to it. Soon, the plants began to independently react to the love and shunning. The loved one bloomed, the shunned one shriveled and withered.
When you continually withdraw or shun another, your God given ability to love is being misused to make another shrivel. The life you are shunning is worth much more.
For the shunned, I want to reiterate to you – God has not forsaken you, He reconnected to His Son and He can do that with you right now if you let Him. Others may fail, God never fails nor will ever He stop loving you.
Pastor Dr Evelyn Brisibe lives in Calgary with her husband. She is an avid reader with keen interest in topics that are dear to her heart in the given season of life she is currently experiencing, check out her blog, Amareno4Him Outside of her local parish, Dr. E influences, mentors and coaches with focus on migrant professional women. She enjoys a game of Badminton if she is not prayer walking through her community as the weather permits.