God of Grief | God of Compassion

Michelangelo's Pieta (1498-1499)

It's OK to grieve.

Our suffering is sometimes great.

But, our God is always and forever greater still.

So, whether you're in the midst of suffering, or walking in a season of relative peace, consider what the sovereignty of our God means to us, practically speaking, for those times when the world comes unraveled.

If God is sovereign over all things, and if God is always advancing his kingdom and bringing about his glory with all that he does, then what does that say about our suffering, so far as meaning and purpose are concerned (Gen. 50:20)? How do those truths bring about His peace, which surpasses all understanding (Phil. 4:7)?

He may cause calamity, as he speaks of himself in his inerrant word, but he is also the author of compassion (Psalm 103:13).

He hears the cries of his people (Psalm 34:17).

"Though the Lord cause grief, he will have compassion." Lamentations 3:31-32. Yes he does. Yes he will.
— John Piper (@JohnPiper) September 11, 2013

I'm So Irritated!

An irritated Lou Pinella

Ir.ri.tab.le (adj.): Having a tendency to be easily annoyed or made angry.

Unfortunately, today's post could turn into more of a confessional, and less of an insightful, profound teaching about what may ail you. That's the neat thing about biblical counseling. I don't have the luxury of taking on too much of that professional "I have it all together" mystique.

Mere Christianity reminds me that on this side of glory, I will never have it fully together.

The Apostle Paul, writing to the Corinthian church in 1 Corinthians 13, was helping the believers there to keep an eye on some not-so-together issues that they were struggling with, too. Specifically, some of them were falling into the trappings of elevating certain spiritual gifts in such a way that relational schisms and fractures were threatening the life and vitality of the church there.

But, most importantly, according to Paul, the church was not loving well.

For Paul, this issue concerning love and the appropriate, ongoing expression of love within the body of Christ was of significant concern. So much so, in fact, that Paul made the bold statement that without love, all other spiritual disciplines are meaningless (1 Cor. 13:3).

With this in mind, Paul instructed his readers in verses 4-7 concerning what love is, and what love is not. By way of a series of indicative statements, Paul brought correction, without the use of a single command.

This passage, taken as a whole, has become one of those go-to sections of Scripture for a biblical understanding of love. You have, no doubt, seen some portion of it on a coffee mug, and heard it put to good use in a wedding ceremony. Paul says a lot about love in these verses, and one point he makes is that love is not irritable.

As a point of reference, we might consider the word petulant, meaning, "childishly sulky, or bad tempered." Cantankerous is another favorite word of mine, which means, "bad tempered, argumentative, and uncooperative."

Love, where ever and whenever it is truly on display, does not become easily annoyed or made angry. That is not to say that there is never a time or place for some feeling or expression of disapproval, or disappointment over some circumstance, but that love is not overcome by the sinful feelings of impatience, arrogance, and rudeness that too often permeate our relationships.

Love says, "I want what is the very best for you, always and forever." Irritability says, "I want you to want what is the very best for me, always and forever." Love says, "At your service." Irritability says, "Fetch me the desires of my heart."

This matter of irritability, seen and experienced across the spectrum of human interaction, is but one leg of the root system that digs down deep into our hearts, and constantly threatens to suffocate the outworking of the love that Jesus calls all believers to evidence in their lives (John 13:35).

Practically speaking, I wonder how much of our modern cultural tendencies promote this sinful emotion. As all of our non-realtional cares and concerns rise in their level of importance, I suspect that what we see are corresponding increases in our levels of irritability.

In other words, where ever I find issues over which I'm willing to express irritability, there my heart will be, also. The question that must be asked in that moment of sinful cantankerousness is, does this issue hold such value as to warrant my behavior?

Some of us may be tempted to excuse our petulance by pointing to our "driven personalities," but if we're honest, we'll have to consider how we may be driving right over other people, if not driving them away altogether.

To be sure, irritability is a part of our broken, human nature, laid on top of hearts that are self-absorbed and self-centered. We foolishly consider our time to be of such value that we cannot tolerate the slightest intrusion, not even by a two-year old that simply wants to sit on Daddy's lap.

It would seem fair to say that our irritability, just like our anger, does not produce the righteousness of God (James 1:20). Fortunately, the love of God toward us in Christ covers a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8).

For Your Consideration

1. In what areas have you been struggling with irritability?
2. How has your irritability revealed what your heart holds most valuable?
3. How might a biblical view of these issues bring your irritability under godly control?

Some Debates Are Worthy of Repentance

Note to self: If your biblical wisdom and precision in the arts of hermeneutics and exegesis don’t end in praise to God and a passion to see the lost man know Christ as Lord and Savior, then your theological endeavors are faulty and quite possibly worthy of repentance.

This is one thought I routinely have as I take in online theological debates, and as such dialogue relates to mission.

The Apostle Paul instructs us to examine ourselves to see if we’re continuing in the faith (2 Cor. 13:5). Knowing the attitudes and positions of our hearts in relation to the pursuit of theological precision and how that relates to our missional engagement is probably a good exercise.

As a seminary student, I have to remind myself of this on a near daily basis, because if I don’t, my propensity is to get sucked into the endless and often fruitless debates concerning the number of angels that might dance on the head of a pin.

These debates have their place and purpose. There is no doubt that we live in a theologically illiterate culture, and so we must fight for doctrinal accuracy. Unfortunately, I find that the tones that frequently get struck do not necessarily lead to love for God and love for others. Instead, the arguments are too often ends in themselves.

The prize of winning a theological argument isn’t the honor of being right, though. It’s the privilege of knowing God and being known by Him that ought to be the goal of our theological discussion.

Without these things, our theology, if we can call it that under those lesser circumstances, may be nothing more than a letter of condemnation. Knowledge apart from faith cannot save, and theology that doesn’t provoke doxology is simply an exercise in academia.

I can say these things with conviction because the Scriptures warn of the danger of knowing things about God, without actually knowing Him. Jesus hammered the Pharisees and religious leaders for their hardness of heart in spite of their wealth of knowledge (Matt. 23:27).

Are some of us armchair theologians and hack bloggers at risk of becoming Functional Pharisees? 

Within the framework of online theological debate, I seldom hear the participants say, “The position I’m arguing for has led me to worship God in the following ways…” Or, “The position I’m arguing for has filled me with a desire to live a sent life because…”

I think we need a little of that.

Now, it might be that we’re just not saying what we’re thinking, but for the sake of guarding our hearts from the dangerous pursuit of mere knowledge, we might do well to sift all of our theological pursuits through these types of filters.

Anti-intellectualism isn’t the answer to cold Christianity. Our God is an intelligent God, and He created us to be intelligent, resourceful creatures that discover and grow in part through the careful study of His word. There is a right way, and a wrong way to read and interpret God’s word. 

Those ways are differentiated by the application of established, interpretive principles that help us rightly divide the word of truth (2 Tim. 2:15). I need to say, for the record, that it’s quite all right and even healthy to debate the dichotomous versus trichotomous nature of man, for example.

But, the question is, how does such a debate increase your love for God and neighbor?

If you have no meaningful answer to this question, then the argument you’re making might just be one worthy of repentance.

Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up (1 Cor. 8:1).