#39 Does God Cry? Thoughts from the Back Deck...

I see the pictures and hear the stories coming out of Israel right now. Heinous acts against women and children. Defiling the dead bodies of people. Putting multiple kids in dog cages after carrying them off as trophies of war.  

War on its own is bad enough. We know war has been a part of the human race since the fall into sin. 

I think one of the big lies that we tell ourselves today is that people are good. That is simply not the case. While the pictures coming out of Israel now are deplorable, we should also not ignore the violence that happens in our homes, neighborhoods, and city streets here and around the world. No area of the world where people are found is exempt from violence. 

We are not "basically good people"/as we are told today. Our hearts are inclined away from God and towards our selfish desires. The human race, in total, lives in an ongoing broken state that will never be fixed by laws or governments. We are sinful people!

It leaves me with a question: does God cry? The short answer is yes. Read on understanding this is a blog thought not an expansive, all-encompassing book on the subject. 

• The Lord has sorrow when we turn away from Him and choose to live without Him or by His command which are set in place to have healthy relationships with Him and each other. 

• He feels jealousy when we pick other things besides His goodness and Him.

• He rejoices with love over us and as we sometimes rejoice with tears.

• Wickedness /sin causes the Lord pain because He loves us and created us.

• The Lord has great compassion for us and all His creation. As creation groans under the weight of sin. The Lord is keenly aware as we are, this was not His intent but our consequence.

The Lord created us and our emotions and our ability to cry in sadness, anger, joy, jealousy, as well as other emotions. While our reactions and emotions sometimes are not logical or over the top, God never loses control of Himself as we sometimes do. 

It's important to remember that God the Father is spirit. But also remember God sent His son Jesus into the world. God became flesh and lived among us. Jesus wept. Jesus felt. Jesus experienced. Jesus grew tired. Jesus felt everything we do. Jesus was human in all ways but still God and did not sin or lose control.

So yes, we have a loving Father who understands our struggle. Understands our pain. Understands our struggle with sin. 

And God did something about it!

... have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews chapter 4.

While sin remains, know that will not always be so! The day is coming when tears, pain, mourning, death, and CRYING will come to an end. (Rev 21:4)

Until that day we pray: Come Lord Jesus! And when we see the inhumanity to humanity I add... COME SOON JESUS!

Peace out,
Andy

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

#78 Thoughts from the Back Deck. Servant Leadership

Image
More of my orchids are coming into bloom. Once a week, I take time to carefully water each plant. I am careful that I don't get water in the plant's stem and where the leaf grows out of it, because it will often rot and destroy the leaf. In Florida's, "winter season" I make sure each plant gets exposed to colder temps for a week or more, but careful not to be exposed to freezing temps. That cold exposure allows the plant to reset and assures the plant to bloom in the spring. Sometimes I need to re-pot the orchids. A bigger pot. A change in the medium the orchids are potted in is not an uncommon task. I don't spend hours on the orchids but I do consistently care for them. Being faithful to little things gives me a beautiful benefit, and I enjoy the long-lasting blooms! As a pastor, I have had people come to me and express a desire to get involved. I try to listen and get a sense of a person's interests, spirit...
Read more

#77 Thoughts from the back deck of my friend's house in Michigan... Two Roads.

Image
Robert Frost The Road Not Taken Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same, And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back. I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. I have been at a pastor's conference this week in Michigan. The colors have been amazing. I have walked daily, as much for a chance to take in the beauty as for my health. I spent time with fellow church workers learning and ...
Read more

#15 Shorter Days, Thoughts from the back deck...

Image
#15, Shorter days?! I sit on my back deck at about the same time every morning but the morning light marks the changes of seasons once again. This photo is from a Keys sunrise fishing trip a few years back, I still hold to the premise that a bad day fishing is still better than a good day at work. Time appears to be short.  More darkness than light.  That is another premise I hear a lot these days. People who feel that way are not talking about the change of seasons. There is a certain amount of anxiousness we can feel as we look at the world. I feel it too as many of you do. I have to fight buying into that premise.  Why do I fight it and why should you fight it?  The premise is based in fear. And fear is a tool of the devil. He uses it to bring doubt in Jesus and that is never a good place to look at life from.  What if time is short? What does that mean? That Jesus will be coming soon. That is nothing to fear but to look forward to! What if time i...
Read more