How the One from God was forsaken by God
Dr Bruce Manners
Senior minister
Avondale College Seventh-day Adventist Church
“There’s always someone worse off than you.” My mother used to tell me this. From the private three-person poll I conducted, it seems everyone’s mother used to say it.
It’s a multipurpose comment. Mum used it when I felt unwell, when I felt life was unfair or when I’d had a dummy-spit moment.
I’m not sure it ever made me feel better, but it was designed to put my pain/misery/situation into some kind of big-picture context. There had to be someone somewhere who was worse off than me—so I should be content in my pain/misery/situation.
Things mums say, or is it, used to say?
As she came into church one Sabbath, I asked Linda Driscoll how she was doing. She’s an octogenarian who’s had some sickness and currently uses a walking stick to support herself. She told of a couple of issues she was facing and then said, “But there’s always someone worse off than you, you know.”
Her mother used to say it, too.
But I wonder, is there a mother somewhere who begins, “There’s always someone worse off . . .” and her voice trails to nothing because her son, her daughter is the worst off?
And what would that look like? How horrible would it be?
Fortunately, no matter how dark our situation, we have hope through the One who did become the worst off—Jesus.
He was worst off not because of His crucifixion, because others died this way. He was innocent, but other innocents have been executed. Here’s the significant difference: He was “forsaken” by God (Mark 15:34).
The One from God forsaken by God! No one else has suffered this kind of darkness. He was forsaken so we need never be.
He became the worst off so we could have the opportunity to be the best off. How good is that?
Tags: Bruce Manners