NACR Daily Meditation for Sunday, Jul 3, 2005

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NACR Daily Meditation for Sunday, Jul 3, 2005

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I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
John 14:18

There are many ways to become an orphan. Some children become orphans
when their parents die. Others become functional orphans when their parents
divorce. Other people become orphans as a result of their parent's emotional
unavailability. Anyone who has been neglected, abandoned, or abused by
people who were important in their life will appreciate what it is like
to be an orphan. It is a painful and lonely experience. Orphans doubt
their ability to sustain intimate relationships and find it difficult to
trust others. Experiences of abandonment leave us full of loneliness, fear
and self-loathing.

Jesus understood the acute pain that orphans experience. In this text
he responds to that deep pain with a promise of relationship. "I will
not leave you as orphans," Jesus says, "I will not abandon you.
 You will not be without family because I will come to you."

In Jesus we see most clearly that God is attentive and available to us
when we feel abandoned or neglected. God respects our needs and responds
to our desires for relationship. God calls us out of the brokenness and
dysfunction of our very personal orphanage into the community and fellowship
of God's family. We are no longer orphans. We are God's children.

Lord, I know about being an orphan.
I know about abandonment.
Thank you for understanding my fear of separation.
Thank you for understanding my need for your presence.
Come.
Be present today with me.
I want to spend time with you.
Amen.


Copyright 1991 Dale and Juanita Ryan

 
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