In keeping with the Christmas spirit, humor me about this topic on relating to Jesus. We know that God sent His one and only Son to die for us. Jesus was perfect but He was also a human being. He had emotions, He was ridiculed, betrayed, lied about, and experienced conflict on the regular. He was even beaten and left for dead on a cross. But there is something I’ve missed until now.

I was recently daydreaming (as I often do) and thinking, ‘how could the Lord understand the pain of losing a loved one?’ The Bible says He faced the same trials, temptations, and pain that we do. I lost my dad three years ago and want to know how could Jesus relate to losing a loved one when He didn’t. Then it dawned on me, He did lose loved ones. Did you realize that his father Joseph, was not mentioned past the first few chapters of Matthew and Luke? In fact, while Jesus was hanging on the cross, He asked John to take care of His mother. From that information, we can gather that Jesus might have lost His father.

Not only did He possibly lose his earthly father, He lost His true Father- God Himself. Jesus was so distressed in the garden of Gethsemane that He sweat blood. He knew that He would have to be persecuted, yes but He also knew He was taking on the sin of the world so that we could be set free. When Jesus hung on the cross, dying a slow and excruciating death, He cried out the words below…

“Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” Matthew 27:46

These words mean, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Now, why would He cry out these words? To put it simply, God had indeed turned His back on Jesus. He abandoned His one and only Son. Jesus felt the full affect of abandonment which is why He cried out those words. Now we know why this took place because Jesus had to take on ALL our sins and die.

So Jesus did lose His Father and was separated for a time. But we know He overcame death and rose from the grave and was reunited with Father God. Sort of like when we lose loved ones but will be reunited with them in heaven when we die. Not to mention meet Father God Himself.

He was also leaving behind His earthly mother, Mary, who loved Him dearly. Records show that Mary was there every step of the way, watching her Son grow up and mature in the Lord. She was even a critical part of His first miracle before He began His ministry. During His three and a half year ministry, she had to let Him go to fulfill His destiny. And she was there at the end when He met His fate. She saw Her beloved Son hanging in agony on the cross until He breathed His last breath. She couldn’t leave His side. She was there at His birth and wanted to be there for His death, no matter how painful it was for her to see.

He left behind all His close friends as well. Those whom He shared life with. Those who became His disciples and traveled with Him. Those who were there throughout His ministry and believed in His cause. In the bitter end, He was even betrayed by some of His friends. They denied even ever knowing Him and one even led the soldiers to right to Him to be arrested.

My point in sharing this with you is two-fold. First and foremost that Jesus has experienced living on earth like we do now and can seriously relate. Secondly and most importantly, I’m here to let you know that God sees your every need and cares. God is your true Father, your Creator who loves you unconditionally.

Did you know that even if you never speak out loud and share with others what you struggle with, God knows? Since He is all-knowing, He even knows our thoughts! Not only does He know, but He cares. God cares about you so much that He pays attention to the small details of your life. He wants a relationship with you that will bring you overwhelming joy and unexplainable peace no matter what life brings.

A Prayer For You

Lord thank You for loving me even though I am unworthy. Thank You for forgiving me and redeeming me by Jesus’ sacrifice. I need You Lord, to be with me and guide me. Give me the strength to trust You even when I don’t feel You near. In Jesus’ name amen.