God of Empathy

If you had to list out the qualities of Jesus,

Whether you believe He actually is the Son of God or not,

I'm sure you could come up with a pretty long list.

Loving,

Patient,

Kind,

Wise,

Humble,

Selfless,

Giving,

The list could go on and on.

But this morning,

I discovered a new adjective to add to that list,

Empathetic.

Having the ability to relate and understand another person's feelings and emotions.

It's different then sympathetic. 

Sympathy sounds like:

It's going to be OK.

Tomorrow will be better.

Look on the bright side.

Empathy sounds like:

I've been there too. I know this hurts.

It's ok to be sad.

I'm here for you, whatever you need.

The truest form of empathy comes when you've experienced the same thing that another person is going through,

And can look back and remember how much it hurt,

How deep the pain seemed,

How much it stung,

How hopeless it felt,

And not expect those persons feelings to go away overnight.

The truest form of empathy comes from having been, or being in, a similar state and not offering any solutions,

But simply a listening ear.

And when I read this verse today in Hebrews, 

It made it crystal clear to me why Jesus,

Who I believe to be the Son of God,

Had to come and live on Earth among us so that

"He would have already experienced it all himself- all the pain, all the testing- and would be able to help where help was needed" ( Hebrews 2:18, The Message)

Jesus had to come to live on Earth,

So he could understand the hurt of being let down by friends,

The pain of feeling like an outcast,

The sting of not living up to others expectations,

And how hopeless it felt to have to wait patiently for what you knew was yours.

Jesus had to come to Earth so that when inevitably we feel the hurt of being let down by friends,

The pain of feeling like an outcast,

The sting of not living up to others expectations,

And the hopelessness of having to wait patiently for what you knew was yours,

He wouldn't just be a God we could reach out to for sympathy,

A God who would say:

It's going to be OK.

Tomorrow will be better.

Look on the bright side.

He would be a God of empathy,

 A God who could look back and remember how much it hurt,

How deep the pain seemed,

How much it stung,

How hopeless it felt,

And sit with us and say:

I've been there too. I know this hurts.

It's ok to be sad.

I'm here for you, whatever you need.

The truest form of empathy comes when you've experienced the same thing that another person is going through,

And I find it so comforting to know that the person I cry out to in times of need,

The Son of God,

The creator of the universe,

A man who walked the Earth,

Knows exactly I'm coming from.