Hope

Shared Sorrows

Of all the monikers for Jesus in the Bible, the one that always struck me was “Man of Sorrows.”  Growing up, I just didn’t get how the Messiah, the Holy One and Savior, could be characterized by sadness. After all, one would think that the Ruler of All would have very little reason for a heavy heart.

However, throughout Jesus’ earthly ministry we see this heaviness penetrate His life time and time again. We see Him weep over Jerusalem and over the death of His friend. We see His heart grieved for the people’s unbelief. Repeatedly He is rejected, not only by the religious leaders, but in the end, by those with whom He was closest.

As I’ve grown older, “Man of Sorrows” has become less strange to me, and has in fact, gradually become a comforting way to think of my Lord.  As I’ve experienced new and deeper sorrows, it is encouraging to know that my Savior knows what it is to be grieved. It is helpful to know that when I turn to Him to carry my burden, this is not something He is unfamiliar with. He’s walked the road before.

And yet Christ offers that when I give Him my burden, I can carry His. Some people may be tempted to think that this means that the Christian won’t have any hard times, yet Scripture and experience obviously teach us that this is not true. But the burden that He offers us is a shared one. We don’t have to bear it alone; in fact, He’s the one who’s doing the heavy lifting.

Just like the Man of Sorrows bears our concerns, so we are commanded to shoulder the burdens of others. Because He is holding us up under whatever may be trying to weigh us down, we are then strengthen to help others withstand their trial. He bears us up, and we in turn can bear them up. The Man of Sorrows shares our grief, and He expects us to turnaround and do the same for His kids.

I’m looking forward to the day where sorrows will be a thing that only resides in the past. Yet, until that day, I’m glad that whatever sorrows I experienced, are ones that are shared.

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Growth Hope

Step by Step

When I was younger, I was convinced that I taught a friend of the family how to walk. I’m not completely sure of the veracity of my recollection; now that I’m older I know that walking is generally not something that is just accomplished in one afternoon,  but from my childlike perspective, I was the one responsible for the fact that this kid was now mobile.

What I learned from this little coaching session, is that walking is not something that happens rapidly, and if you really think about it, we don’t actually teach kids to walk. Instead, what we teach them is to take one step, and then another, without losing their balance and falling down. It’s only when they put a series of these steps together that they are truly walking. Our outcome though, is just one step, and then the next.

This lesson we learned as children is often forgotten by the time that we’re adults. When we’re looking towards the next thing in life, we want the complete path mapped out for us. We’re not worried so much about the next step as we are about the series of steps five miles down the road. We neglect to remember that the only way we get five miles down the road, is to first take the step that’s right in front of us.

The truly wonderful thing, however, is that the God we serve is taking each step with us. Just like a parent holds the child’s hands as they first began to walk, so our Father is walking right beside us as we seek to do His will. He’s not waiting for us five miles down the road at our purposed destination; He’s holding us as we trip over the rock, as we veer off the path, and as we stub our toes. Every step we walk, we walk with Him.

As an old songsays:

Step by step He leads me,

And I will follow Him all of my days.

Each step.

One foot after the other.

With Him by our side.

Until we’re Home.

 

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