During the season of Lent, it is worth reflecting on God's greatest gift to mankind, His only son Jesus Christ. However, the question of why He had forsaken His son as he was dying on the cross has baffled many Christians for millennia, leading some to even doubt his wisdom.
Pastor, inspirational speaker and blogger Jarrid Wilson noted in a recent blog that Christians sometimes have a feeling of disconnection from God the Father because they do not understand why He would forsake his son amid his suffering. Was He ever there in the first place? Or was it perhaps Jesus' act of taking on sin that deafened him to his Father's voice?
While it is important to reflect on why God took no action to save Christ from the plight of cross, it is equally important to understand his plan as many Christians who face their own struggles may reach such a moment.
"Many people today struggle with knowing God's voice, curious as to whether or not God is hearing their cries. Regardless of why Jesus thought God to be silent upon the cross, I believe that even in God's silence there is power. We may not always understand what God is doing in the moment, but we must trust that God will provide for those who are in need and bring support for those who need it—in his timing, not ours," he said urging them to continue to believe that God is present even when He is silent, just as He was silent during the suffering of his own son.
"He's still there. He's still taking care of you. He's still God," he assured.
Jeremy Myers, author of "The Atonement of God," also explained in his own post that while Jesus may have felt forsaken by his Father, he was actually not. When Christ embraced the sins of the world, he gave the voice to man's pain and anguish.
He however urged the faithful to reflect on what truly comes between man and hearing the voice of God, who has always been present in one's life, instead of focusing on God's act of "forsaking" his son.
"Though you may feel forsaken, forgotten, neglected, and overlooked, these things are no more true of you than they were of Jesus. Though you may feel unloved, this is no more true of you than it was for Jesus. God did not forsake Jesus, and God does not forsake us. The presence of sin in our lives makes us feel like we are forsaken, like God has abandoned us, forgotten us, or left us alone to suffer and die, when in fact, God is right there all the time, holding us, loving us, and crying with us over our pain," he explained.
