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Why Your Jesus Might Not Be Sad Enough

Happy Jesus

Fun Jesus.

Serious Jesus. 

Angry Jesus. 

Loving Jesus.  

Frustrated Jesus. 

Sad Jesus? 

If you’re like me, it’s not hard to envision Jesus in the context of any of those adjectives except that last one. 

Sad Jesus. 

Yeah, I can’t see it. I just closed my eyes and focused on sad Jesus and I didn’t see much. I saw a sad Jesus in the garden right before the cross and I saw a sad Jesus upon discovering our sin, but a Jesus who is sad because we are sad? 

Blurry. 

That image is blurry. Funny thing is, it’s easy for me to somewhat comprehend that God is happy when his kids are happy, but flip the scripts and I have a hard time believing God would or could ever be really be sad when his kids are sad. 

Why? Because he already knows how the movie ends. 

Ever watch a game after you already found out the final score? If you have, you know that there’s no need to worry or get emotional when your team is down because you already know they will win.

See it’s not that I don’t think Jesus cares. It’s just that I don’t see why he’ll ever get sad when I’m sad when he already knows that whatever I’m sad about is going to work out. 

If anything, I feel like based on his knowledge of the future, Jesus probably feels so frustrated that we’re wasting time being sad.

It’s like the story of Lazarus. Why in the world would Jesus cry with the mourners when he knew he was about to raise the guy from the dead? 

Because he’s a good father. 

Yes, Jesus is happy when we are happy, but if the story of Lazarus teaches us anything, it’s that when we’re sad, Jesus is also sad. 

He’s sad when our dreams come to a screeching halt and we feel sad. 

He’s sad when we lose something or someone valuable and we feel sad. 

He’s sad when we feel left out, forgotten and lonely. 

Even though he knows the future. 

Even though he knows it’ll all work out. 

Even though he’s working it all out for our good. 

So next time you feel sad, remember that you have a friend in Jesus who understands, engages and feels your pain. 

Why do you think it’s hard to believe that Jesus cares enough to cry and be sad with us like he was with Lazarus’s family? Also, what other adjectives do you have a hard time attributing to Jesus.