In 1978, in the neonatal unit of a hospital in Bogotá, Colombia, pediatrician Edgar Rey discovered a method that became a breakthrough in treating premature babies. This hospital, where more than 30,000 babies were born each year, was located in the center of one of Bogotá’s poorest neighborhoods and did not have nearly enough incubators. Several babies were crowded into each incubator, increasing the number of infections, mortality rates, and the number of mothers abandoning their babies because they had no opportunity to hold them.
When he read an article about how kangaroos care for their young, Dr. Rey was impressed by the benefits such a method provided. After birth, kangaroos carry their young in their pouch, where they are kept warm and protected and have consistent nutrition. The doctor invited the mothers to keep their babies with them, skin-to-skin, during their stay. The results were astonishing. Infant deaths, days in the hospital, and the use of incubators decreased.
The power of touch and parental presence made all the difference!
“My God, why have you forsaken me?”
On the cross, Jesus Himself experienced the pain, anguish, and anxiety that accompany abandonment. One might think that it was the physical pain that killed Him, but it was the weight of sin on His shoulders that brought Him the crushing sense of being abandoned by His heavenly Father (see 2 Corinthians 5:21). The sensation of the power of the presence and communion with His heavenly Father faded, broken under the weight of sin’s separation. Under this extreme pressure, Jesus cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46).
Being together or being present
Our children can spend all day with us and still feel as far away as David felt from God. Parents may assume that all that matters is occupying the same space with their children, but being present means more than just spending time together.
The Gospel according to John has a very personal touch, for it begins with “the Word was with God, and the Word was God,” followed by the expression “the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (John 1:1, 14). These verses mean that our God is a personal Being, not a distant one. When you pray, do you believe you have God’s undivided attention?
The gospel supports the argument that Christ, our God and Savior, is present and engaged with us in our daily lives. One day, Jesus visited the pool of Bethesda, where “a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed.” They were waiting for the water to stir because they believed that when that happened, they could be healed (John 5:3, 4). One man had been lying there for 38 years. Almost four decades of false hope! Jesus longed to heal everyone, but it was the Sabbath, and doing so would have caused even more animosity from the legalistic Jewish leaders and could have abbreviated His ministry. He concentrated on this extreme case, spoke to the man, and healed him (verses 6–9). God not only stands with His children but also relates to them.
Being separated from His Father terrified Jesus. In the same way, nothing is more important to God than to commune and engage with His children. Do we care enough about the presence of God and our children?
The authors are Christian ministers. They write from Salem, Oregon.
