04 May The Empathy of Christ
Who knows you best? Who has seen you at your best and at your worst? Who has seen you when you’re in the in-between of your best and worst? Who has seen you when you’re energized, upbeat, creative, and goofy? Who has seen you when you’re tired, apathetic, bored, and withdrawn? Who has been around you enough to know what you mean even when you fail to adequately communicate yourself? Who has seen you, known you, and loved you?
For me, the number of people who completely fit this description is minuscule; I could count them on one hand. These people are rare, precious jewels in my life. They are not few because of a lack of loving people around me, but because of the sheer amount of quality time and conversation required to reach this level of friendship. What takes man years and years of dedication, patience, and initiative, our Father achieved before the foundations of the world.
There has been no point in this infinite universe of time and space that He has not fully known you. As your name was etched into the Book of Life, He saw beyond the veil of letters into the depths of your heart. When Eve ate the fruit, He saw the distant future battle you would wage with your sin. When He told Abraham to behold the stars, He saw you gazing at the night sky in awe and wonder that He could love you. When He parted the Red Sea, He saw how He would make a way for you through your most destructive wounds and brokenness. When Christ died and was raised, He saw you eternally clothed in His righteousness and sitting at His table.
He sees every moment of your life from high above, and He sees every fleeting thought and feeling to the depths of your being—and He loves you.
“When He told Abraham to behold the stars, he saw you gazing at the night sky in awe and wonder that He could love you.”
No other god chooses to be as close as our God. No other god chooses to humble himself to the point of feeling our emotions, dealing with our species’ weaknesses and flaws, and roaming this cursed, rebellious earth. God got His hands dirty when He decided to wash ours.
He knows the depths of human despair. He knows temptation because He was tempted in every way (Matthew 4:1-11). He knows what it’s like to lose a loved one (John 11). He knows the deepest, lowest form of human despair possible: the feeling of being forsaken by God, utter separation from the source of everything good, light, and beautiful in existence.
Oh, that I would everyday consider the magnificence of a God who knows me so intimately. When the world seems to be slipping further into insanity and the grips of hatred, He knows my anger and fear. When I do not always know how to respond, He knows my bewilderment. When I am broken by the ways I have not acted justly myself, He knows my grief.
“Oh, that I would everyday consider the magnificence of a God knows me so intimately.”
But I cannot complete this post without answering the question you may have been asking all along: What good is a god who can empathize but cannot overcome?
Come look in His Word, and see that yes, Jesus is Emmanuel, but He is also the returning King mentioned in Revelation 19:11-16.
“Then I saw heaven opened, and a white horse was standing there. Its rider was named Faithful and True, for he judges fairly and wages a righteous war. His eyes were like flames of fire, and on his head were many crowns. A name was written on him that no one understood except himself. He wore a robe dipped in blood, and his title was the Word of God. The armies of heaven, dressed in the finest of pure white linen, followed him on white horses. From his mouth came a sharp sword to strike down the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod. He will release the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty, like juice flowing from a winepress. On his robe and thigh. was written this title: King of all kings and Lord of all lords.”
Take heart! He has overcome! We get the best of both worlds. Not only do we have a God who weeps with us as we await His return, but we have a God who will actually return, bringing glory, justice, and eternal joy with Him!
So as we suffer today in the midst of disease, disaster, and national tragedies, we are not alone. He is with us. But just as He allowed Lazarus’ death because his resurrection brought even more glory to God, He only allows our present suffering because it will result in our good and His glory to an even further extent in the future.
” …weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning” (Psalm 30:5).
-Rebekah Jenkins, Pelham