The emotions of God in regards to His people and towards those who have rejected Him.
Part 2
This is the second in what will be a four part series discussing the emotions of the God of scripture. The one we will look at here is: the God of Sorrow.
Picture Christ in the garden of Gethsemane. He is burdened. He anticipates the anguish to come. So intense is this moment that His drops of sweat are as blood. Meanwhile, His disciples sleep; He is utterly alone.
When God created mankind, he created us in a world of perfection. Then Adam and Eve sinned against Him and this not only brought guilt onto them, but imputed sin to all mankind. Thus we do not live in a perfect world and we do not, nor cannot, live in perfection. Sin has tainted everything around us and infected our lives in many significant ways.
In Jeremiah 8 we see God voice His sorrow over the sin of His people through the words of the prophet:
"'For the hurt of the daughters of my people I am hurt. I am mourning; astonishment has taken hold of me. Is there no balm in Gilead, is there no physician there? Why then is there no recovery for the health of the daughter of my people? Oh, that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people... They are not valiant for the truth on the earth. For they proceed from evil to evil, and they do not know Me', says the Lord."
The sin of a lost world is a sad thing to witness indeed. Hearing about New York passing the bill that allows the death of a baby in the womb up until birth is devastating. There are many other issues in our culture today I could name in which the world with arrogance stomps upon God's law with a haughty boldness that lacks any fear of His judgment. It is brazen and it is ugly. How much more must God grieve over the sins of those who are His own? When His children go astray and rebel against His law, it is indeed a sad time to witness and even more heartbreaking when we take part. Listen to the anguish in His voice when Christ, speaking through the heart of His Father of those who were fighting Him and rejecting those who presented God's law to to their hearts, laments:
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were unwilling..."
Through God's sorrow when we turn astray, we can see His love for those He longs to call His own. In my last blog post I talked about the God of wrath. Looking in scripture we see God's desire to bring His people to Himself. His anger is often brought to fruition amidst the heartbreak of watching His people sin. His perfect nature does not allow room for sin. For this reason we see His anger and judgement; for this reason we see His incredible depth of sorrow.
God's sorrow over sin.
When God created mankind, he created us in a world of perfection. Then Adam and Eve sinned against Him and this not only brought guilt onto them, but imputed sin to all mankind. Thus we do not live in a perfect world and we do not, nor cannot, live in perfection. Sin has tainted everything around us and infected our lives in many significant ways.
In Jeremiah 8 we see God voice His sorrow over the sin of His people through the words of the prophet:
"'For the hurt of the daughters of my people I am hurt. I am mourning; astonishment has taken hold of me. Is there no balm in Gilead, is there no physician there? Why then is there no recovery for the health of the daughter of my people? Oh, that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people... They are not valiant for the truth on the earth. For they proceed from evil to evil, and they do not know Me', says the Lord."
The sin of a lost world is a sad thing to witness indeed. Hearing about New York passing the bill that allows the death of a baby in the womb up until birth is devastating. There are many other issues in our culture today I could name in which the world with arrogance stomps upon God's law with a haughty boldness that lacks any fear of His judgment. It is brazen and it is ugly. How much more must God grieve over the sins of those who are His own? When His children go astray and rebel against His law, it is indeed a sad time to witness and even more heartbreaking when we take part. Listen to the anguish in His voice when Christ, speaking through the heart of His Father of those who were fighting Him and rejecting those who presented God's law to to their hearts, laments:
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were unwilling..."
Through God's sorrow when we turn astray, we can see His love for those He longs to call His own. In my last blog post I talked about the God of wrath. Looking in scripture we see God's desire to bring His people to Himself. His anger is often brought to fruition amidst the heartbreak of watching His people sin. His perfect nature does not allow room for sin. For this reason we see His anger and judgement; for this reason we see His incredible depth of sorrow.
God feels sorrow over our sin because when we violate his laws, we do so against Him directly.
In Hosea 11 we see God speak through the prophet regarding His sorrow over the sins of His people, the Israelite's:
"When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called My son. As they called them, so they went from them; they sacrificed to the Baals, and burned incense to carved images. I taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by their arms; but they did not know that I healed them. I drew them with gentle cords, with bands of love, and I was to them as those who take the yoke from their neck. I stooped and fed them... How can I hand you over, Israel?....My heart churns within Me; My sympathy is stirred..."
What truly loving parent does not grieve over their child who has gone astray? This is the heart of our God towards His children. When we sin, there is an important factor that must be realized. Not only does that sin hurt others around us and ourselves, that sin also hurts God. And to the unrepentant sinner, please understand the hurt you may feel as you struggle to do better and fail, does not go unseen by God. Through His heartache over your shortcomings, He desires to give you what you need to overcome the sin that plagues you. However, this can only come through your complete surrender to His will.
There is a second element of God's sorrow that I have seen showcased in scripture. This sorrow God exemplifies when we feel sorrow. Again, looking at the nature of God through His Son, Jesus Christ, we see the way in which our Savior cares when we feel sorrow. The most prominent example that comes to mind is when Jesus came to Mary and Martha as they were grieving over the death of their brother, Lazarus. John 11:35- "Jesus wept." Our Lord knew he was going to heal Lazarus, this was no mystery to Him. While His sorrow over the loss of his friend may have been the cause of His weeping in part, I believe He was primarily sharing tears with Mary and Martha and those grieving his loss for a reason. Being "A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief", He understood the depth of their sorrow over this significant loss. He too felt their sorrow and wept with them.
Starting out, I asked you to picture our Savior in the Garden, talking to His Father. Fervent in prayer to God He prays "Not my will but Thine be done". Earlier Christ had shared the last supper with His disciples. Later in the garden He spoke to them these heavy words: "My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me." Then the disciples slept and Christ prayed.
This moment was the epitome of sorrow. God was there as a witness and fellow-sufferer as Sorrow held His Son with it's icy grip. For this reality remained, while Christ was giving up His life, this meant God would be giving up His beloved Son to take on the sin of the world, thus giving us the ability to be saved from the sin that seeks to overcome.
This was the ultimate submission of Christ to his Father and the ultimate sacrifice of God, through His Son. In seeing the heart of Christ through his sorrow, we can see God's heart towards His children. He was willing to give up His Son to save us. How much does a father love and cherish his son? How much more does God? So then, in His willingness to give us His most precious gift, of how much more worth are we to Him? Through the God of Sorrow, once again we see a showcase of God's love for His people. And, as the thought of the God of sorrow communing with His Son in the darkness of the garden penetrates our thoughts, let us bear in mind an important fact: "Weeping may last for the night, but joy comes in the morning..."
God's Sorrow When We Are Burdened
There is a second element of God's sorrow that I have seen showcased in scripture. This sorrow God exemplifies when we feel sorrow. Again, looking at the nature of God through His Son, Jesus Christ, we see the way in which our Savior cares when we feel sorrow. The most prominent example that comes to mind is when Jesus came to Mary and Martha as they were grieving over the death of their brother, Lazarus. John 11:35- "Jesus wept." Our Lord knew he was going to heal Lazarus, this was no mystery to Him. While His sorrow over the loss of his friend may have been the cause of His weeping in part, I believe He was primarily sharing tears with Mary and Martha and those grieving his loss for a reason. Being "A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief", He understood the depth of their sorrow over this significant loss. He too felt their sorrow and wept with them.
God's Sorrow In Gethsemane
This moment was the epitome of sorrow. God was there as a witness and fellow-sufferer as Sorrow held His Son with it's icy grip. For this reality remained, while Christ was giving up His life, this meant God would be giving up His beloved Son to take on the sin of the world, thus giving us the ability to be saved from the sin that seeks to overcome.This was the ultimate submission of Christ to his Father and the ultimate sacrifice of God, through His Son. In seeing the heart of Christ through his sorrow, we can see God's heart towards His children. He was willing to give up His Son to save us. How much does a father love and cherish his son? How much more does God? So then, in His willingness to give us His most precious gift, of how much more worth are we to Him? Through the God of Sorrow, once again we see a showcase of God's love for His people. And, as the thought of the God of sorrow communing with His Son in the darkness of the garden penetrates our thoughts, let us bear in mind an important fact: "Weeping may last for the night, but joy comes in the morning..."
