There are some days when the needles don’t hurt. Today wasn’t one of them. Today my blood-taker literally pinpointed a nerve. It also happened to my dog today. I discovered an attached tick on her side. Usually she is very patient and stoic when I find one. Today she cried when I removed it. It had to be right on a nerve. Pain, a curse and a blessing, can be horrific but it also warns us that harm is happening.
Jesus was very direct in teaching us to call God our Father. If He is our Father and I am sure Jesus told us the truth, then God experiences an extraordinary amount of pain. We are told that God hates sin. When I was little I thought He hated sin because He was offended by our disobedience. Now I know that is not His reason for hating sin. Sin harms. Note the difference between harm and hurt. While I hurt my dog this afternoon I did not harm her – quite to the contrary.
Parents will do anything to shield their children from harm and when they witness their children making bad life choices they experience pain because they know what is coming. While our heavenly Father does not experience physical pain His psychological pain must be excruciating. By obeying Him we are not gratifying some egotistical trait in Him. Instead we are trusting His wisdom, that if followed, will reduce our harm. The cross had to be the ultimate moment of God’s pain. To watch creatures originally made in His image mangle Jesus and for Him not to interfere had to require of Him all the love possible. “For the joy set before him he endured the cross.” (Hebrews 12:2) They both did.
Written by Roger Bothwell on May 14. 2013
Spring of Life Ministry, PO Box 124, St. Helena,CA 94574
Rogerbothwell.org