Grieving the World
Photo by K. Mitch Hodge on Unsplash
To say the least, we are living in tumultuous and stressful times. COVID-19 is still out there and we don’t exactly know how that’s going to play out. There is great social and racial unrest. There are scores of people out of work and struggling to buy food. On top of all that, the “normal” life problems (relationships, family struggles, home and car repairs, etc.) are still with us. In addition, the political system seems more committed to blaming the other party than it does to finding solutions. It’s just a tough situation.
One thing that has been challenging about all of this upheaval (for me at least), is the range of reactions to it. For example, on the topic of the COVID crisis, I have found friends and people I respect very much hold widely differing opinions. Some think we overreacted to the COVID situation while others think we underreacted. Some say things should have opened up earlier while others say we went back to work too soon. The same polarization is present as people address the racial and social unrest. Some conclude all policemen are bad while others think all protestors are criminals. Neither is true.
With all of this in mind, I have thought about what God’s reaction would be to our current condition. I would never presume to know the mind of God, but I think I have one thought that seems to fit. I think God is greatly grieved.
Remember, this is not the world as God created it. The world He created was “very good.” There were no pandemics, tornadoes, racial prejudices, brutalities, injustices, lies, jealousies, infidelities, or abuses. But that world has been contaminated by sin (yours and mine). As a result, the world we live in is a broken and struggling one. We might grieve the nature of the world, but I am convinced that our grief is a drop of water in the ocean compared to the grief God feels.
Several years ago, we lived in Kansas City and became acquainted with Thor Hagen. Thor had a ministry to inner city kids and was truly a giant of a man. He was about 6'3" and at 270 lbs was not overweight. He had been a professional wrestler. He was a powerful, robust man with a wonderful caring heart. After we moved from Kansas City to Tulsa, Thor was diagnosed with cancer and I didn’t see him for 3 to 4 years. When I did see him again, he was in the hospital dying, and it was shocking. He weighed about 120 pounds and literally was skin and bones. It was profoundly sad.
Since then, I have often wondered if that’s what God sees when he looks at the world today. It is no longer a robust, powerful creation, but it is a world that has been wracked by the cancer of sin. The Bible tells us that there will be a new heaven and a new earth someday, but right now we live in a broken one that experiences things like pandemics, racism, selfishness. God’s grief about that is far greater than ours could ever be.
The grief of God can be seen throughout the Bible. Jesus was described as “a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief.” Jesus grieved over Jerusalem. He wept at the death of a friend even though He had planned to restore him to life. (I personally believe that He wept over the brokenness of the world, and the resulting damage and pain.)
Perhaps the most direct passage is in Genesis 6:6-7:
“The Lord was grieved that He had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. I will wipe mankind whom I have created from the face of the earth—men and animals and creatures that move along the ground and the birds of the air, for I am grieved that I made them.”
These verses immediately precede the account of the flood.
Two quick thoughts about this passage:
All of creation suffers because of the sin of mankind.
What’s holding God back now? I think it is his infinite love and patience.
He loves enough to give us (humanity) every chance to make things right. He is willing to live with the overwhelming pain of great grief in the hope that we (and the world) may become more like the world he created. He has provided a means to do that through Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection. The question is, what will we do with his offer of hope and restoration through Christ?