Separation Anxiety

 

T

he rooms in my home had grown quiet.  The sounds of pots banging in the kitchen, the smell of home cooking and fresh coffee no longer came from the kitchen, and the echoes of laughter and conversation were now a memory.  There was no tangible evidence that my mother, father, and sister had been here for two weeks.  They arrived on Saturday and left on Sunday and already it felt as if an eternity had passed, as if I had dreamed it all. 

 

I watched the car pull out of the driveway, make the final turn around the corner, and start the long journey home.  I went back inside and started doing the household chores.  I dusted the apartment, made the bed, cleaned in the kitchen and in the bathroom and got myself ready for church.  As I dressed, I couldn’t help thinking of my family and the joy I had while they visited with me.  My heart was a little sad at their absence, but I knew I would see them again in December and that gave me something to look forward to and cause to be happy. 

 

A similar situation occurred in the lives of Jesus’ disciples.  After spending three years with him, the time for separation comes.  We have to understand that the disciples weren’t with Jesus for a week-long visit.  Instead, they lived with him, traveled with him, ate with him, etc. every day for three years.  Just when their friendship reached its deepest level and all was going well, Jesus dropped the bombshell that he would be leaving them. 

 

John 16:20-22 records this announcement for us, “I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.”  Let’s take just a moment to let this passage sink in.

 

In this passage, Jesus is referring to his death on the cross.  Can’t you just see the expression on the disciples’ faces?  They all sit around the table, mouths hanging open, eyes wide, faces pale, and voice boxes not working.  How can it be that their friend and master will be leaving them?  Surely Jesus is mistaken!  Perhaps this is some type of joke because he wouldn’t abandon them, just go away, just disappear into thin air.  What about all those long walks together?  How about the lessons, the miracles, and the times of deep conversations they had shared together and all the promises he made?  Yes, the disciples were in the beginning stages of separation anxiety, not knowing how to react to the news of Jesus’ departure. 

 

But notice that Jesus gives them a ray of hope in this announcement.  He knows the disciples will grieve, he knows they will be sad, and he knows there will be pain and void in their hearts.  But Jesus also knows that this separation is only temporary.  He promises that the disciples will see him again and that their joy will be complete, and no one will be able to take it from them. Separation will be followed by reunion and what a joyous time that will be. 

 

As my parents drove away, I experienced a little separation anxiety myself.  It is never easy, no matter how old you are and no matter how far away you live.  Seeing loved ones leave always creates a sense of longing in our hearts and always leaves a vacuum in our lives 

 

You and I have never seen Jesus face to face and yet we know that he is real.  There are times in our daily walk with him when we long to see him, and one day see him we will.  The anxieties of separation will be over, and our joy will be complete, and no one will ever take that joy away from us.  We are only separated for a little while and then everything will change when we ourselves will enter into his presence forever.  Are you experiencing separation anxiety today?