When people told Him that they loved God(ie Jesus himself) and yet they mocked, lied, slandered and beat Him….I wonder how He felt. Did he feel the fleshy side of an unimaginable ache in His heart, shock at the cowardice of claimed followers and fear for their eternal life? While at the same time knowing the Father’s will and the importance of His obedience to it? Did He feel the peace and strength of the Holy Spirit that allowed Him to keep walking the extremely difficult path He was on all while His heart broke inside?
Jesus was fully God and fully man so He had to have felt this battle between the flesh and the spirit that we all feel. We see one example of this battle in the garden before his crucifixion.(Mark 14) we know He felt all the emotions and faced all the battles we face so that He could relate to us
Hebrews 2:17-18
“Wherefore in all things it behooved Him to be made like to His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that He Himself has suffered being tempted, He is able to succor them that are tempted.”
But He was perfect and showed us how to keep striving on and seeking Him first so that we could overcome through Him!
We have been walking a difficult path in this new life with Christ and with that has come having to let go of those we love deeply and being rejected by many whom we haven’t even shared with. Sometimes the weight of the sadness and grief feels to strong. Sometimes there is a major battle to kill the flesh.
The flesh says “be angry! Don’t forgive them! Repay evil for evil! They don’t actually love you because they don’t know how without Jesus so you should not love them. You should turn your back and just forget about them. There is no point to pray for them, they have already made up their mind. They pretend you don’t even exist!” But if we do that, aren’t we just like them?
The spirit says “They don’t realize the magnitude of what they have done. They don’t know what love is without me(the Holy Spirit) so you continue to love them through me! Charity hopes all things so don’t give up! Pray that they will soften their hearts to the Word, forgive them and keep following ME! I will handle the rest! Let that ache in your heart drive you forward and keep fighting for all the lost souls in the world!”
My heart may be aching but I know God’s word is true and I know He can relate to this pain. I also know that all hope is not lost and I have to keep striving on in Him!! He is my hope and He is my strength in this dead and dying world!