When you picture God, what do you see? What kind of mental picture do you get when you think of God? Do you see God as a kind, jolly old fellow, sort of like Santa Claus or a favorite uncle? Do you see Him wearing a robe and crown, sitting on a throne? Is he holding a lightning bolt, like Zeus, waiting to zap anyone who steps out of line? Or does he look like one of Michaelangelo’s paintings, old and bearded, yet strong and muscular at the same time? Let me ask it another way: when you imagine God looking down at you, what expression does He have on his face? Is he smiling? Or is He stern-faced, frowning at you? Is he pleased? Or is He angry, or disappointed?
Why does it matter? After all, no one knows what God really looks like, do they? If you remember, in the Old Testament, when Moses asked to see God, He was only allowed to catch a brief glimpse of God’s back. And in the second of the ten commandments, God expressly forbids the making of idols. He doesn’t want people praying, or bowing down, or worshipping in any way, in front of a painting or a sculpture that supposedly represents Him. So why even raise this question of what we see in our mind’s eye when we think of God?
Because the image we get in our mind when we think of God says a lot about how we view God. If your mental picture of God is someone dark, foreboding, scowling - as if He’s ready to reach down out of heaven any minute and give you a good swat - then you probably think of God as basically a God of wrath, a God of judgment, a God of condemnation. On the other hand, if you see God smiling, relaxed, looking down at you with approval - then you probably think of God as basically a God of love, a God of mercy, a God of compassion. Which one do you see?
There’s an element of truth to both of those. God is a God of judgment for those who persist in doing evil and refuse to seek forgiveness through Christ. But for those who place their trust in Christ, for those who find forgiveness of sins through faith in Christ, that’s not an accurate picture. For us, there is no condemnation, no judgment, no punishment, no wrath. Christ has already suffered all of those things in our place. For us God is only love, and grace and mercy.
"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." - Romans 8:1 (NIV)
"I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life." - John 5:24 (NIV)
Let me say that again: there is no condemnation - none - for those who have trusted in Christ for salvation. God’s attitude toward us is not one of anger or wrath, but one of acceptance, and love, and approval. God is not frowning at us. He is not scowling at us. He is smiling.
This morning, I’d like to look at one aspect of God’s love toward us, and that’s His compassion. In a sense, God has an image problem. [In reality, it’s our problem, not His]. When George Bush began his campaign for the Presidency, what was his slogan? "A compassionate conservative." Now, to some people, a compassionate conservative is an oxymoron, a contradiction in terms, like "jumbo shrimp" or "military intelligence." [or "accordion music," "airline food," "athletic scholarship," "educational television," "non-dairy creamer"]. Many people have the same problem seeing God as compassionate. They’ve bought the lie that all God wants is to condemn people. They think that somehow God gets his jollies from giving people a good whack in the head, that what God loves most of all is to punish and smite people. Nothing could be further than the truth. God’s desire is to save, to do good, to bless.
"This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth." - 1 Timothy 2:3-4 (NIV)
"The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." - 2 Peter 3:9 (NIV)
What pleases God is not to condemn people. What pleases God is for people to turn to Him for forgiveness. God’s fundamental attitude toward us is one of love and compassion. Let’s look at that statement in more detail.
God is compassionate toward the hurting
Does God care when we hurt? One of Bill Clinton’s famous lines is, "I feel your pain." Does God feel our pain? Does He understand what we’re going through? Does He care? Or is he just sitting up there in heaven, watching as we suffer and struggle, serenely unmoved and emotionless?
It is a common theme in the Old Testament that when God’s people are suffering, and cry out to Him for help, He hears them and comes to their aid.
"The LORD said, ’I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey.’" - Exodus 3:7-8 (NIV)
"The LORD had compassion on them as they groaned under those who oppressed and afflicted them." - Judges 2:18 (NIV)
We see from these verses that the Lord cared what was happening to his people. Their suffering mattered to Him. He heard them and responded to their cries. In the New Testament, God’s compassion can be seen most clearly in the ministry of Christ, as he responds to the suffering of those around Him:
"A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, ’If you are willing, you can make me clean.’ Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. ’I am willing,’ he said. ’Be clean!’ Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured." - Mark 1:40-42 (NIV)
"When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things." - Mark 6:34 (NIV)
· In the first case, Jesus had compassion for someone’s physical suffering - not just the disease of leprosy itself, but everything that went with it - the hopelessness of suffering from a disease with no cure, a disease that was progressively more and more disfiguring, the pain of being a social outcast, forced to live away from society, the poverty and degradation that followed. The tears, the regrets, the shame, the loneliness, the despair - Jesus understood all of that. He cared for that man. And he responded, not by drawing back in revulsion, but by reaching out in love and compassion.
· In the second case, Jesus had compassion on the people because they were confused. Directionless. They had no real leaders - the religious establishment, those who were supposed to be leading and caring for them, were instead exploiting and abusing them. So the people didn’t know what to do, where to go, who to follow. They were wandering aimlessly, looking for someone, anyone, to show them the way.
Ø How did Jesus respond? Did he react with contempt? No. He didn’t look down on them or criticize them; He didn’t rebuke them for lacking understanding. He didn’t insult them or call them stupid. There was no condemnation at all in his response, only love and compassion. What did he do? He taught them. He sat down on the hillside and patiently shared with them His wisdom - not just a few things, but "many things." He willingly and unselfishly met their need, without complaint and without irritation.
Let me pause and ask you a question. Are you suffering? Are you wondering if God cares, if He even knows? Are you wondering if your suffering matters to God, if you matter to God? The answer to that question is "Yes." You do matter to God. You matter more than you know. God understands what you’re going through, whether it’s physical suffering, or emotional suffering, or mental anguish. Whether your pain is caused by disease, or troubled relationships, or inner turmoil, God understands. He cares. He cares about your suffering and He cares about you. You matter to God.
Does that mean that God will immediately relieve all of our suffering? No. God can relieve suffering. He can heal bodies, reconcile relationships, change circumstances. But sometimes He doesn’t. Sometimes, for His own good and wise and loving purposes, He allows our suffering to continue. But if that’s the case, it doesn’t mean He doesn’t understand or care. It doesn’t mean He’s abandoned us. It means that He has a purpose for us in that suffering. And He is going to stay with us and walk with us and strengthen us and comfort us as long as He allows that suffering to continue.
God has compassion because He created us and Christ became one of us.
How is it that God is able to understand our suffering so deeply? How does He know us so well?
· God has compassion because He created us. He knows what we’re made of. He understands our weaknesses.
"As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust." - Psalm 103:13-14 (NIV)
God understands that we’re not angels or divine beings. He remembers where we came from - He remembers creating the first man, Adam, out of the dirt and clay of the earth, and then blowing the breath of life into him. He has compassion on us because he knows exactly what we are and where we came from.
Likewise, God knows who you are. He knows your background. God understands the burdens you’re carrying. He understands your weaknesses, and where they came from. He understands why it is that you have such a problem with your temper, or why you’re tempted to gossip, or where that selfish streak comes from, or why you have a hard time expressing love to your children.
Example: maybe you’re hypercritical. Nothing’s ever good enough for you. Your wife, your children, your employees - none of them come up to your standard. There’s a good chance you were raised in a home where you were told the same thing. God understands why you are the way you are. Does that mean God accepts or tolerates sin? No! He loves you too much to leave you unchanged. But His attitude as he works to change you is one of compassion, not condemnation.
· The other reason that God is able to understand us so well is that Jesus Christ, God the Son, became one of us. He experienced all the same things we experience. He lived and suffered and died in this same world that we live in. And because of that, he identifies with us.
"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." - Hebrews 4:15-16 (NIV)
When we want sympathy, who do we go to? We naturally go to those who have experienced the same thing. There are support groups for every kind of suffering - Adult Children of Alcoholics, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Overeaters Anonymous, divorce recovery. Whatever you’re struggling with, there’s a support group for you, if not in person, then on the internet. We gravitate to these people because we know they will understand. They can sympathize, in a way that no one else can. Jesus understands what we’re going through, because He’s been there.
God’s compassion never fails.
Among members of what is called the "helping professions" - doctors, psychologists, social workers, ministers - there’s something called "compassion fatigue". They deal with hurting people all the time, they care, they sincerely desire to help, but there comes a point when they just feel burned out, emotionally exhausted, numb, unable to feel anything or to care about the people they are trying to help. That’s compassion fatigue.
Sometimes parents get compassion fatigue caring for their own children. Sometimes adults get compassion fatigue caring for ailing parents. But the good news is that God never gets compassion fatigue. He never wears out. He never gets tired of loving us and caring for us. He never wearies of having us come to Him with our difficulties.
"Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed," says the LORD, who has compassion on you." - Isaiah 54:10 (NIV)
"Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail." - Lamentations 3:22 (NIV)
(For an .rtf file of this and other sermons, see www.journeychurchonline.org/messages.htm)
