Embraceable you

 Psalm 103:13  

Like a parent feels compassion for their children—

    that’s how the Lord feels compassion for those who honor him.

I heard someone being interviewed on the radio this morning define compassion and empathy this way: compassion is feeling sorry for the other, empathy is feeling their pain.  They were pretty much right on, I guess. Webster.com defines compassion as “sympathetic pity and concern for the sufferings or misfortunes of others.” and empathy as “the ability to understand and share the feelings of another.”

So, perhaps compassion is “I am so sorry that happened to you,” while empathy is, “I’ve been through something similar so I have an idea what that might feel like.”. Which perhaps explains why we find it easier to relate to Jesus than to God, as Jesus fully understood what it felt like to live among humans.  He knew what it was like to grow up with other children, recover from injuries, catch a cold, have to learn new things, grieve the loss of a parent, maybe even fall in love, and all of those other things that typical humans go through.  God does not experience life in the way humans do, but Jesus does/did.  God does not experience physical pain or death, but Jesus did.   When we consider God, we know that we cannot possibly measure up to God’s perfection, but Jesus was human, like us, and thus we can live as he lived.

This difference between how we perceive God and Jesus is part of why it is so difficult to explain the Trinity- God, Christ and Holy Spirit.  Trying to understand something that the greatest theological minds of every age have been unable to define clearly is, I think, a waste of time and energy for most of us.  It is one of the things that I simply believe to be true the nature of which I cannot even come close to understanding.  

There are, after all, a lot of things I don’t understand, but really don’t need to know, like how my iPad works.  It works and it makes my life easier, and more interesting.  That’s all I care about.  But I do care about my relationship with and perception of God.  It is good to believe that God feels compassion for me - that God feels sorrow for no other reason than because I am sad, and joy when I am joyful.  Knowing that God loves me as a parent loves their child is comforting.  I do not need God to be like me.  I only need God to care about me.  

Loving God, I am so grateful to know that you care for me as a parent.  Knowing that you have compassion for me gives me comfort, and lets me know that I am never alone.  I give thanks that you are always with me, holding me up in times of sorrow and embracing me in times of joy.   Amen.