April 19

April 19

Hebrews 4:14-16 (NIV) 14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. 16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Years ago, I had an awareness of Who Jesus was and had formed my own understanding. I knew that He experienced life as we have lived it. I thought about my life and remembered my feeling alone with few friends, my being bullied, my father leaving us, my mother’s cancer and death, my illnesses, my failures at school, my fears, and so much more. It gave me a peace thinking that Jesus understood my life because He experienced those same feelings. However, I felt that He could not truly understand the depth of those emotions because He was fully God. That misconception passed with time. One day, when thinking of all that Jesus endured for our salvation, I realized that He experienced our pain and temptations, but we have not experienced His pain and suffering.
I think of the move The Passion of Christ and its vivid depiction of all that Jesus suffered. He was so disfigured that He no longer looked human (Isaiah 52:14). When I try to imagine the pain, I recoil because even the thought of His suffering is hard to bear. The whipping, the crown of thorns, the humiliation, the death He faced, His being separated from the Father, and His descent into hell is beyond my comprehension, and this is the way Jesus wants it. Though He experienced all our pain, suffering, and struggles, He desires that we never experience His pain and suffering on that cross. Yes, we will be ridiculed as He was. We will be mocked and may even face death for Him. However, we will never face Hell. We will never be separated from Him. We will never be abandoned. That is the love He has for us. It is that love that guided Him, and it is the love that guides us. His love is a firm foundation that will never be shaken.