Separated But Not Disowned

"Lisa, how are your parents?  Are they in good health?"

My wife started the conversation with our friend while we were carpooling to a fundraising event recently.  We talked about her parents' strong Christian faith and service, which came as little surprise, as Lisa, a physician, is herself a strong believer who lives out her faith through her love for others.  Our conversations drifted to Lisa's plans to take a short-term medical missions trip to Mexico, but within minutes we were sharing stories about our own children, as parents are wont to do.  We talked about the challenges of raising children in a Christian family, and my wife asked Lisa about her own childhood, assuming that her parents were Christian during her youth.

"Actually, my parents were Muslims...and they were so strict in their religion they almost killed me when I accidentally ate a piece of pork...it tasted sooooo good!"

It turned out that Lisa became a Christian in an austere Muslim household.  Her parents were so upset at her conversion, they seriously considered disowning her.  Being disowned would mean that she would have lost all ties, physical, financial, and perhaps emotional, to her parents.  Thankfully, they relented, and by God's grace, whatever thread of connection that remained allowed Lisa to restore their relationship, and she eventually became the instrument of their salvation.

Similarly, when Adam and Eve sinned by eating the forbidden fruit, God could have disowned them completely.  Mankind could have been annihilated in an instant, and if somehow God allowed us to exist, we would have been eternally separated from God, to the point that we would have no connection with our Creator in any form.  Yet He chose to remain connected with us.  God had compassion on Adam and Eve, that He provided for them before they were driven from the Garden of Eden:

And the LORD God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them. (Genesis 3:21)

Mankind became separated from God, but not disconnected.  In subsequent generations, Cain and Abel presented offerings to the Lord, Enoch walked with the Lord, Noah found favor with God, and God called Abraham to become the father of nations.  God did not disown mankind, but continued to intersect with our lives throughout the generations of His people, until at the appointed time, He sent Jesus to fully restore our relationship with Himself.  We get to return to our heavenly Father, never to be separated again.  The thread of connection is God's word:

but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.  (John 20:31)