Articles
Compassion for God
Compassion for God
Corey Sawyers
It almost seems nonsensical. At the very least, it goes against the grain of what we may typically think. We want, desire, and need the grace, mercy, and love of the Almighty. We realize we must love and obey Him. It is also quite obvious He has been compassionate toward many (2 Kings 13:23; Psa. 78:38; 103:13; Mt. 9:36; 14:14; Rom. 9:15; Jms. 5:11; etc.). Have you ever thought about how you should feel compassion toward Him?
The Hebrew word raham is translated compassion. It means "take pity on, have feelings and actions of kindness and concern for one in difficulty" (DBL Hebrew by Swanson). Why should we pity God? What difficulty could He be going through? After all, He is God.
Amid Jeremiah's prophecies concerning foreign nations, he tells of the destruction coming to Moab. Bear in mind, he is not talking about the nation of Israel, God's special people. Moab was an oppressor of Israel. Still, while talking of the awful fate that awaited them, the Lord, through Jeremiah, says, "Therefore I wail for Moab; I cry out for all Moab; For the men of Kir-hareseth I mourn" (48:31).
You find this throughout scripture. This is only one example. God is holy, and if we are not, we cannot be in His presence. So, the Lord is reminding them that there will be consequences. Make no mistake, though. The Lord takes no pleasure in punishment.
All of mankind is His creation. All mankind is, in that sense, His children. Like any loving father, our Father in Heaven mourns over the loss of His children. He grieves when His children reject Him, crawl across the cross, and go to the place prepared for Satan.
We are often concerned about our wants, our needs, our problems, our persecution, and the like. We often bemoan our brethren, the world, the government. We sometimes belittle and deride those we consider our enemies, be they in the religious world, the political parties, or just those who do evil. What about God? Where does He come into all of this? Do we ever consider how He hurts when those who are lost continue to choose sin and the world over Him? Do we consider how He hurts when we do the same?
What about God? How much does he look at the division, the sin, and the bickering today and wail? How much does he cry out for the people of 2020? How much have I caused Him to mourn?
Have compassion for God. He hurts.
