I think the name given to Jesus, Emmanuel, says it all.
Emmanuel means 'God with us.'
I think what God offers, is Himself.
this challenges me, because my logic tells me that there is a better way.
that He should be able to end all of it, that He never should have allowed it to harm one of His children.
but instead of living in the what if?
i am going to pursue what is before me, right now.
right now, before me, God is offering me, Himself.
in regards to my pain and suffering, how does His presence change things?
His presence offers an inexplicable intimacy,
an intimacy that we are told cannot be severed, not even by death,
He has promised to never leave nor forsake us.
an ever present companion, if you will.
He knows us, and yet does not reject us.
He even makes a way for reconciliation with us, when we forsake Him.
also, with His presence, comes forgiveness,
K.P. Yohannan says in his book Come, Let's Reach the World:
[Jesus] chose to suffer, die, and rise from the dead for the "remission of sins."...Jesus knew that injustice, crime, sickness and poverty were merely the symptoms of our iniquity, not the central problems of it. Jesus never taught that our behavior was the by-product of environment. Jesus understood that iniquity is genetically within our fallen race....Jesus came to deal with the root cause of sin by going to the cross. By offering Himself as a blood sacrifice to redeem and reconcile us to God, He made it possible for us to overcome sin and enter into the kingdom of God.
in this forgiveness that i receive from the ways that i have afflicted others, i become free to forgive those who are causing my suffering.
i no longer carry the burden of bringing them justice, that is now in His hands.
not only this, but His power and authority offer the way in which to look at one's ability to inflict pain and turn from it!
with His presence here, He offers hope for change, He becomes our strength to live in such a way as to not continue spreading the pain!
likewise, there is hope for those who inflict pain upon us.
we can offer all sorts of Band-aids to those who suffer,
but i don't think that any of us are capable of being an ever present companion,
we all fall short of being for someone else, what we all wish we had in our loved ones,
no one can offer the kind of forgiveness and acceptance that looks at who you TRULY are, both the agent and victim of suffering, and says, "you are known, and you are loved, and it is okay, i can take care of that"
and can any of us, offer the power and strength that it takes to overcome powerful habits of destruction and pain?
God is all of these things, and so with His presence, He is our hope!
He is with us amidst it all, and He chooses to climb into our pain and experience it alongside of us!
we may not have an answer on when or how the end to suffering will come,
and we may never understand why we suffer?
but what we are promised is a companion in our suffering.
and so I will share a prayer from a dear friend of mine;
Teach us therefore, O God, to connect our knowledge of You
with our faith, worship, and living.
Teach us to think more rightly of You.
Teach us that theology is but a means-
a means to a rich and infinite end.
Teach us that Scripture really does speak of You in truth,
and that you match perfectly all of its claims.
May we sing of your lovingkindness that Moses learned in the desert,
of your ability to satisfy that beckoned David to his knees,
of your sight and care for the afflicted that invited Hagar to worship,
of your attention for the least of these that bewildered Your disciples,
of your mercy which freed the thief on the cross.
It is not that You are but a revelation of Your Word,
but that Your Word is but a revelation of You.
Teach us that suffering is a part of this sinful world-
not something that jeopardizes Your goodness.
Thank You that you long to show your care and compassion
by way of our personal experience.
You will do away with all pain.
In the meantime, teach us to invite You to grieve with us,
especially since You are already there.
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