WHEN YOU'VE BEEN FORGOTTEN
"Can a woman forget her suckling child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb?" Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Isa. 49:15, R.S.V.
The closest relationships available to us in this life are supposed to teach us of God's relationship with us. When they fail to do this or teach us just the opposite, we might well wonder if there is any hope.
One of the most agonizing of life's tragedies is when someone who should have loved us, no matter what, fails to do so. IT is almost enough to destroy us. Bitterness often pervades the whole life causing every good thing to be discounted, every slight to enlarge like a mountain. "It's not fair!" we cry. And we are right. But that is not the end of the matter.
God sees deeply into our wounded hearts. With utmost sensitivity He lifts us up into His great arms of love and reminds us that though such unthinkable things can happen on this runaway planet, they will never happen with Him. By using a carefully chosen analogy, He helps us to realize that He cannot forget us because He has so identified with us as to make us a part of His own being (see Isa. 49:16).
All of us are damaged by our passage through this life. Some are devastated. Only very tangible evidences of God's love can bring these wounded souls back from despair. But God has a plan to do just this. It includes all of us who have come to know and trust Him.
Jesus showed us how. He lived God's life in very real and reachable ways right in the middle of a very damaged people. He cared, He listened, and He touched them. He cried, and I believe He laughed--warm, genuine laughter of someone who enjoys another person and delights in him. He was honest and straightforward about the problems of life. People were always more important than their current decisions.
Hearts were warmed, hopes renewed. Some even dared to believe that their past life need not hinder them in their future successes and acceptance. And is not this the finest privilege of a mother--to send forth her offspring secure in their potential and innate worth? Perhaps we may cry with the Master Himself, " 'Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?' And stretching out His hand toward His disciples, He said, 'Here are my mother and my brothers!' " (Matt. 12:48, 49, R.S.V.)
"Can a woman forget her suckling child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb?" Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Isa. 49:15, R.S.V.
The closest relationships available to us in this life are supposed to teach us of God's relationship with us. When they fail to do this or teach us just the opposite, we might well wonder if there is any hope.
One of the most agonizing of life's tragedies is when someone who should have loved us, no matter what, fails to do so. IT is almost enough to destroy us. Bitterness often pervades the whole life causing every good thing to be discounted, every slight to enlarge like a mountain. "It's not fair!" we cry. And we are right. But that is not the end of the matter.
God sees deeply into our wounded hearts. With utmost sensitivity He lifts us up into His great arms of love and reminds us that though such unthinkable things can happen on this runaway planet, they will never happen with Him. By using a carefully chosen analogy, He helps us to realize that He cannot forget us because He has so identified with us as to make us a part of His own being (see Isa. 49:16).
All of us are damaged by our passage through this life. Some are devastated. Only very tangible evidences of God's love can bring these wounded souls back from despair. But God has a plan to do just this. It includes all of us who have come to know and trust Him.
Jesus showed us how. He lived God's life in very real and reachable ways right in the middle of a very damaged people. He cared, He listened, and He touched them. He cried, and I believe He laughed--warm, genuine laughter of someone who enjoys another person and delights in him. He was honest and straightforward about the problems of life. People were always more important than their current decisions.
Hearts were warmed, hopes renewed. Some even dared to believe that their past life need not hinder them in their future successes and acceptance. And is not this the finest privilege of a mother--to send forth her offspring secure in their potential and innate worth? Perhaps we may cry with the Master Himself, " 'Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?' And stretching out His hand toward His disciples, He said, 'Here are my mother and my brothers!' " (Matt. 12:48, 49, R.S.V.)
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