Jesus WEEPS

My friend sent me a text with this quote: "A Christian is someone who shares the sufferings of God in the world" (Dietrich Bonhoeffer). He was a German pastor under Hitler's regime and one of very few Christians who condemned the dictator's persecution of the Jews. He died in prison for attempting to assassinate Hitler, something he felt the Lord call him to and wrestled with as he was a pacifist and peacemaker. He eventually drew the analogy of a shooter walking into a classroom saying he was going to kill all the students. Wouldn't you as the teacher shoot the shooter? All that to say, Bonhoeffer knew what he was talking about in terms of suffering.

I love this quote because it indicates that God suffers. Jesus Christ is no longer in an earthly body, feeling and seeing what we see and feel. He's no longer on the cross, experiencing the weight of every sin and every pain we've ever had. He is risen. But God still suffers. He still experiences pain over human daily suffering. His heart still cries. A woman named Jennifer Miller had an encounter where God took her to a room in His house called the Weeping Room. He told her He spent most of His time there and asked if she was sure she wanted to go in. She said, "I want to be where You are." The room is furnished with only a chair, where Jesus sits and watches scene after scene of human suffering - children being abused, starvation, poverty, death, disease. She sees tears streaming down the Lord's face. Jesus still weeps.

Do we want to be where He is? Philippians 1:29 says "For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in Him but also to suffer for His sake..." To be like Christ, our master, to follow Him, means to sit with the poor, share in their pain, and not turn a blind eye to it because it hurts too much (and when I say "poor," I don't mean just materially, because you can be monetarily rich but very oppressed and depressed, and thereby poor). You are called to feel it, because Christ does...right now. He dwells among the broken. Do you want to be where He is...?