Tuesday, July 29
Jesus wept.
—John 11:35
We look to the sky and try to discern the presence of a God that feels
invisible, unknowable, beyond the blood and guts of human experience. It's no
wonder we sometimes find it hard to believe in God. We know joy and
excitement that cause our hearts to dance, and grief and sorrow that cause our
eyes to weep. And we wonder why God stands aloof and beyond the rigors of
earthly life.
In this one verse—a mere two words
long—is the crux of Christianity. God does not stand apart from finite life.
God, in Jesus, weeps with the world. The emotion that wrenches and rends a
sorrowing soul is experienced by God—in a human way.
The grief that sinks the chest is not avoided by the One that created us. Because Jesus wept we can know that every emotion that surges through the sinews of our bodies is known and felt by the One who loved us into being.
O God, never let me dance alone or weep alone. Stand close to me and fill me with the reality of your presence—even in the midst of my fragile and finite human life.
The Signposts for July are written by Renée Miller and originally appeared on explorefaith.org in 2004.
