Forsaken

   Who likes that word? Who likes its meaning? Who would volunteer to be forsaken? 
   Jesus did.
   

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,

yet he opened not his mouth;

like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,

and like a that before its

shears is silent,

so he opened not his mouth.

~ Isaiah 53:7

   Jesus is powerful. He commands angels, an army of them (see Matt. 26:53 for details). If He wanted to, He could have stopped everything in a heartbeat. But He didn't; He had volunteered and would finish it.

   On that cross, Jesus experienced something new.

   And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice,"Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?" which means,"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" ~Mark 15:34

   Jesus was forsaken by His own Father. Yes, He knew it was coming, but that couldn't change the pain it brought.

   What does Jesus being forsaken mean for us? It means we will never be. How does it help us? By bringing us to eternal Love.

   Simply put, Jesus volunteered to be forsaken so that we'd never truly experience it.