There is no greater agony than to lose love, you know that, psychiatrists, counsellors know that. There is no greater agony than a love that really matters to you, you lose it, it's gone, And, depending on how long and deep that love was, the more agony it is.
As you know if an acquaintance says, "I never want to see you again" that's bad. If a good friend says, "I never want to see you again" that's worse, If your child or sibling or parent says, "I never want to see you again" That hurts way worse ---- And if your spouse says, "I never want to see you again" that hurts the worst of all. A lot of you have been through those experiences. It destroys your heart, It destroys your body, it destroys!
The quote above is from a sermon on the Crucifixion by Timothy Keller, pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City.
Keller then points out that this terrible suffering is nothing compared to the suffering of Jesus Christ on the cross, when God the Son is separated from God Father - They (the persons of the One God) had been together for all eternity, and on the Cross the Father abandoned the Son to a brutal, agonizing death.
We see Jesus' anguish the night before in the garden of Gethsemane when He prays, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will." And then again on the cross when he cries out, in despair, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
Jesus, the Son of God, was abandoned by the father when he was being brutally put to death by those he had created. He voluntarily suffered this humiliation and death, so that He could pay our debt of sin. He was punished and abandoned - getting what we deserve - and He did all this to save us from our sins.
Coram Deo.
Kenith
