Weekly Photo Challenge: Abandoned

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For this week’s photo challenge, show us abandoned. You can go literal, as I have, and share a photo of ruins, a desolate place, or your idea of a wasteland. – Cheri

“Forsaken”

On a rural road, I see a homestead is falling,
At some time abandoned by some other calling.

With broken windows and peeling paint,
The farmhouse stands in silent complaint.

“Once a warm shelter, I stand now unheated
My family has left me, alone I’m defeated.

My porch on which children once played
Has fallen, in collapsed ruins it’s laid.

Curtains carefully chosen to enhance my décor
by shattered glass are ripped and lay on the floor”

“Who lived here,” I wonder, “ and when did they leave?”
The farmhouse stands, falling, alone to grieve.

Perhaps the most distressing words in the crucifixion of Christ were “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matthew 37:46, KJV). This cry of anguish by the Savior, the same words of the David in Psalm 22:1, have caused theological debate over the type of abandonment Jesus suffered on the Cross. To me, John MacArthur sums it up well:

There is no way to explain it. Maybe we’re helped a little bit to understand that even in His incarnation there was a separation. Did you know that? Because in John 17:5 He says, “Father, Father, return Me to the glory I had with You before the world began.” So there was some kind of relationship that He had before his incarnation that He wanted back. So in the incarnation there was some degree of separation and now in his sin-bearing death there is another degree of separation. He is separated from God. [1]

Whatever it meant for Jesus to be forsaken, His death on the cross secured salvation for those who believe in Him and who abandon themselves to His lordship, so that mankind no longer has to feel separated and alienated from God. In Jesus’ final “marching orders” to the disciples, He promised, “I am with you always, even unto the end of the world” (Matthew 28:20, KJV), never to be abandoned again!

1. From John MacArthur’s sermon “A Closer Look at the Cross.”

20 thoughts on “Weekly Photo Challenge: Abandoned”

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  4. Thanks for sharing your images. I love images, 1, 2, & 4. Each of these would make for a great color to black & white image. A few comments… In image #1: I would have moved to the left, or moved in close and tried for a wider shot, so that you could get rid of the tree. As is, it is right in the right 1/3 of the shot. Image #4: Is pretty good as it. I would also like to see a shot where you moved in closer to get rid of the tree branches that appear in the left-hand third of the image.

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    • Thanks for your comments, Rick. As the theme was “abandoned,” I thought the trees might highlight the sense of overgrowth and neglect of the property. I will explore your B&W suggestions!

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  6. This is one of my favorite subject matters and you did a nice job of capturing it. Normally I go after old abandoned farm houses and barns like you did here, but this time I decided to do something a little bit different. You’re welcome to come and see my take on the matter. 🙂

    Weekly Photo Challenge: Abandoned

    Also, I like the tie-in to the extremely important subject matter of Christ’s atonement, death and resurrection.

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    • Thanks, Cris! Yes, there are a plethora of abandoned farmsteads in the Midwest, so it is an easy, fallback subject. Honestly, the weather was starting to move in on Friday afternoon and I decided to go to this farm where I had taken some quick clicks of the barn in the fall. The tattered shades were somewhat haunting to me.

      Thanks for the comments about the spiritual dimension of “abandoned.” While the themes don’t always bring to mind a biblical truth, this one certainly did!

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  11. Abandoned barns have a beauty of their own, but I also find them sad, as I think of the farm my grandparents had and how it’s now abandoned. The land is still in use, though. As for the abandonment of Christ, this is the time of year to think about it and then rejoice that He didn’t abandon us to our sin and destruction!

    Have a blessed Lent!

    janet

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    • I agree, Janet. While the land is still in use, the abandoned farm houses and barns speak of a change in economy, family size, and farming practices (some good and some bad).

      And, yes, this is certainly the time of year to contemplate so great a salvation that was obtained through the Cross! Thanks for your comments.

      A blessed season of Lent to you, too!

      Chuck

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