Then everyone deserted him and fled.
A young man, wearing nothing but a linen garment, was following Jesus. When they seized him, he fled naked, leaving his garment behind.
Mark 14:50-52
For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica;
At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge.
2 Timothy :14 and 16
And I alone of all mankind
Were left in loneliness behind.
Author: Barnes, William
Jesus and Paul were abandoned by their friends. In their darkest hour everyone ran off. But there was one in each situation that stayed. John the beloved stayed and watched the proceedings of Jesus trial and execution. Comforting Jesus mother at the foot of the cross. Luke alone stayed with Paul as written in 2 Timothy verse 11,"Only Luke is with me." In many situations in our lives, others just leave.
In a day when everyone seemed not to care, a co-worker who I consider a friend came to me. He asked could he pray for my troubles. He never prays. This was very unlike his character to do such a thing. When I thought no one cared, God used him. And not to many days after this, when we did a morning devotion prayer, he prayed. He asked God to forgive him for become angry at another worker that morning. I pray this is an ongoing trend for him and not just a fluke. God can work miracles with a seed.
God used him in my moment when I felt abandoned by everyone. If we ask God, He sends a glimmer of hope at our moments of discouragement. So has been the story of my life. In my darkest hours, I have seen a small glimmer of light. God is there for us always if we look for Him.
Now we know how it feels to be abandoned at sometime in our lives and He stands by us. But how does He feel when we abandon Him like the apostles did that night. As the guards came, they ran away scared. How can we judge them? We would have probably done the same thing. Or would we have hung close by like John the beloved?
In worship to God, it can be easily seen the self abandonment of a person to the Lord by their hindered or unhindered worship. John and Luke abandoned themselves to follow God going against conventional wisdom. Many saints lived a life that was recklessly abandoned to Jesus Christ. They lived a life of simplicity, poverty and humility and called others to do the same. They continually sought to follow fully the way of life demonstrated by Christ. I believe that by relying on Jesus for our hope, and by loving others unconditionally, we can have the same desire as that of the saints -- drawing closer to the Savior. Though I fall short of that mark every day, my prayer is that God will take my efforts and the pieces of my life, combine them with His strength and grace, and make something beautiful out of my life. I long to be totally and recklessly abandoned to the cause of Christ and the pursuit of God -- to know the relentless tenderness exhibited by my Lord and Savior.
Take time to offer Jesus your whole self in utter joyful, selfless abandonment.
by
Lance Gargus
Books:Christianity,Bible,Jesus,Angels,Soul,God,
Holy Spirit,Doves,Love,Children,Heaven
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16 comments:
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son {to be} the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son {to be} the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. We love, because He first loved us. {1 John 4:7-19 NAS}
i love that version of amazing grace - wonderful.
Lance,
This is a beautiful post. Thank you. That version of Amazing Grace is incredible... I cried. As Shinade said, yes you were an angel sent.
It's quite a love story, isn't it?
Beautiful video. Thanks for sharing it.
--renae
www.renaebrumbaugh.com
It's nice story about life..Sad story and so touching..You have a great Post Lance..You write from your soul
Just beautiful!
All of us at times have felt that we have been abandoned by those that are close to us. It's only those who are family, friends, etc. can cause us this angst. Strangers, evil-doers and the like, who wish to harm us, should be ignored - their day will come.
It's usually, only in times of despair, that we turn to God and ask his help - and if we pray to him with an open heart, He will answer our plea, however sometimes we do not hear or recognize his answer.
But what if we commune with God each and every day - thanking him for all the blessings we already have?
God is a loving God and I do not think that he mourns when we abandon him. I do not think he is so petty as to hold a grudge. Being all knowing - he realizes our foibles and short-comings.
So, don't beat yourself up for your inequities - God understands.
After all, we are his children and he loves us one and all, good and bad, pure and evil, rich or poor. He makes no distinction.
Be pragmatic when it comes to your relationship with God. You'll find yourself becoming calmer and more at ease.
Peace.
It's easier to die for Christ than to live for him.
Dear Lance,
Please know that you have most assuredly been a God send to me.
You most certainly were an angel in my life with this post.
And, you have helped me to move even closer in my walk as a Christian.
I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God sent you my way to help me see the errors that I have made with my walk as a Christian.
And, I am very grateful for that. I was failing miserably and was blind to my own faults. But, my eyes are open now.
I thank God everyday for remaining by my side and sending people such as you into my life to help me see the errors of my way and correct them.
You have most assuredly been blessed with the gift from God to do exactly what you are doing.
May God Bless you and yours,
~Jackie
I find reading the gospels for how they apply to our own lives, as you do here, highly meaningful.
In my own experience of life to date, first hand as well as looking at the world, I find that true, terrible, and even mortal abandonment is not at all uncommon world wide and even here in the US - easy for healthy people leading middle class lives in wealthy nations to forget about, for example, those dying in the streets or from lack of health care.
But in that darkest hour, like Jesus on the cross asking why God has abandoned him, our own stories can pass through that most terrible of human experiences into a new life and level of being that we may not have anticipated at all.
Great Post! once again... Godbless
God does send a glimmer of hope. great post, lance. God bless.
Lance, Awesome video. Thanks for sharing! Hope you don't mind I share this with my visitors, too.
lance, i am sooooooooo happy what u are doing. i loved u and your family so much. i think back on the good days and the bad days we had together.
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