Sometimes the significant figures of history seem distant with little humanity. George Washington is a monolith on the National Mall. Abraham Lincoln sits in a big chair, staring off into the distance. They existed, but don’t feel real.
But Grandpa, I could relate to him. At my dad’s funeral, he asked to hold his baby boy one more time. I wasn’t sure he really wanted to hold the urn, but I handed it to him anyway. Then, he wept. My grandpa wept. He really loved my dad. I really loved Grandpa. At that moment, we no longer wept for my dad; instead, we wept with my grandpa.
In John 11:35, it is written, “Jesus wept.” He didn’t weep because His friend Lazarus had died, but because He saw His people’s sadness. He saw their weeping. Jesus cares for His own. When His people hurt, He hurts. Jesus didn’t weep for His people; instead, He wept with His people.
In our darkest moments, Jesus can relate to us. He asks to hold us in His arms for all time. We may not be sure He really wants to hold our life, but we can hand it to Him anyway. We weep. He weeps. He really loves us. We can really love Him too. In that dark moment, Jesus will not weep for us; instead, He will weep with us.
Jesus is not a distant figure of history. He looks down from Heaven, but He is not a monolithic god sitting upon a cold, marble throne. He not only exists; He feels real. He is real.
Won’t you sit down with me over an open Bible and study how we can serve Jesus together?
Photo by Kristina Tripkovic on Unsplash
