Emotionally Connecting With God - Loss Of A Loved One

Loss of a loved one

John 3:16 – For God so loved the world, the He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes 

in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

This one might be hard to grasp, but it is exactly why we have salvation. Yes Jesus is alive, and is coming back for us, but at the same time, when Jesus hung on the cross, there was a point in time, where God The Father “lost” His only son. Yes He knew that Jesus wasn’t going to be dead for long, but still God did experience the loss of a family member – just like parents losing their only child. God has been there and He knows how YOU feel. Perhaps the most commonly known Bible verse says it right there.

If we look at the actual event, we can see where it goes from God “having” His son, to Him losing His family member, His own Son. When Jesus was first nailed to the cross and stood up, He asks God to forgive those who crucified Him. Notice the wording those – Jesus says Father, not God. This shows where God and Christ are still together.

            Luke 23:34 – Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them for they do not know 

            what they do”

Mark 15:33-34 – Now when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice says, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? Which is translated “My God, My God why have You forsaken Me?”

Luke 23:46 – And when Jesus cried out with a loud voice, He said “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit” Having said this, He breathed His last.

So now we have a glimpse into the time Jesus was actually on the cross, all was “normal” until the 6^th hour, then for 3 hours, God turned away, forsaking Jesus, because at this point Jesus had taken up the yoke of the sins of the earth, and because in God there is no sin, He had to turn away from Christ, this is evident in the words used by Christ, instead of “Father, Father why have You forsaken Me?” it’s “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me.” This use of words shows the change in the type of relationship, the Father-Son relationship. Instead now, Jesus is calling out to God, not to His Father, because God had turned away. Now we look at Luke 23:46, with His dying breathe, Jesus cries out “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit,” this shows that as Christ Dies, He is Still the Son of God, this is why He is able to defeat Hell and Satan.

So as you can see, even though Jesus is alive, and He is with God, God has still experienced the loss of a family member, He isn’t in heaven saying “I know how you feel,” He is saying “Hey, My children, I know what you’re going through because I have been there.” This awesome fact is why we can connect with God even in those really hard losses, even when those who died weren’t believers, because let’s not forget after Jesus died, He didn’t go to heaven, He went to hell, to defeat it for us. 

So when you’re going through the loss of a loved one, don’t forget that not only does God want to give you comfort, and wrap His arms around you like a blanket, He also knows how you feel, because HE HAS BEEN THERE TOO, and because of that, you can connect emotionally with God.