The Suffering of The Father, Part #1

Earl Gillespie

The Suffering of the Father

Christianity: Christianity today is largely a system of man-made beliefs about the Word of God with a sprinkling of biblical principles added for flavor.

The confusion that exists within the religious community, the loss of faith caused by those who are preaching the gospel for profit, The trivilazition of the sacred Word, the lack of concern for the poor in spirit, surely has caused our Father to look upon our antics with a frown on his face.  The different groups that are claiming to be speaking in the name of the Father, sowing seed of doubt and mistrust, causing the generations that come after them to run from God.   The self styled ministers that glory in worldly excesses, seeking to be that superstar of earthly proportion, quoting scriptures out of context without regards to age and dispensations, they themselves, ought to call into question their true motives. The desire to be rich and famous, the desire to be on the radio or Television, the desire to command a large crowd like the DJ's in the nightclubs  should not be at the forefront of their endeavors.  Much of the work that is done in the Father vineyard, "according to the testimony of Jesus in the book of Revelation", is not pleasing to the father. 

Often, we view our heavenly Father as an abstract being who feel no pain or sorrow.  We speak of God’s love for us as we continue to sin, as if this God of love cannot feel agony, grief or even pain because of our sins.  Let us examine the subjects of joy and pain that we may or may not have caused our Father to endure. 

Luke 15:3-7, “And he spoke this parable unto them, saying,”  “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he finds it?” “And, when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.” “And, when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep, which was lost.” “I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repents, more than over ninety and nine just persons, who need no repentance.”

The shepherd of the flock always goes looking for the sheep that have strayed and there is rejoicing and celebration over every single sinner who repents.  The two key words referencing the Father attitude are ‘rejoicing’ and ‘celebration’.  We should be able to visualize the setting around God’s throne when a sinner repents or a backslider returns home.  There is joy in the Kingdom of God.

Luke 15:22-24 says, “But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him.  And put a ring on his hand, and sandals on his feet.” “And bring here the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry.” “For this, my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.”  

 There can be no question that God is pleased with the ninety-nine sheep that remain faithful, and with the nine silver coins that have stayed where they belonged But, we see in this parable how our Father is delighted, overjoyed, elated with the one who was lost and found its way back home.   

There is an attribute of God, which I do not believe we very often take into consideration.   The attribute I am referring to is that God experiences what we, in human terms, call emotions.  God has feelings and passions.  He has a heart, which is touched the same way our Heart is by the children in our lives. God created man in his image.  Because we are in his image, we process and share certain attributes of God.  Because of our connection, we should be able to understand on a level slightly lower than Angels how the Father felt when his wayward son came home.

The prospective, in simple terms, it is how we look at a subject.  We know how we would feel if our wayward child return home.  We also know how the Father and the Angels felt and reacted when the prodigal son returned.    Now let us change and look back at the last parable from the perspective of Revelation 13:6-9.  "And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. If any man have an ear, let him hear."

 God knew that man was going to sin even before he created the world.  He knew that all of us would reject Him at one time or another.  Actually, he knew we would reject Him, repeatedly. Yet how do you suppose He felt when Eve committed the first sin?   Do you think that He felt any better about it when Adam followed in her footstep?  Use the sense of your own emotions.  If these were your disobedient children, how would you feel?  They violated your rules, would you punish them?  How did God feel when their son Cain, murdered his brother?  Do you have any idea or concept of how God reacted to these sins?   What about you and me, how did God feel when we committed our first sin?  How do you think He felt when we committed our second sin, or our third or twenties sin?  What about the times we were tempted to sin and we saw a way of escaping, but decided to go ahead and sin anyway, knowing that we could always ask for forgiveness later?  

I want you to remember these words: rejoicing, celebration, merry and elated. Now think about these words: Agony, grief, ache, wounded, hurt, excruciating and sorrow.  Think of your experience with each of those words.  God’s pain, and His ache, and His agony, and His wound are greater than ours are.  If we can learn what it is that rips our Father’s heart apart, the things that brings Him to tears, we would be able to experience a more satisfying relationship with our creator. 

Genesis 6:5-6, “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the LORD was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.”  Let me implant these words, grief and sorrow into your sub-consciousness.   Our Lord was sorry and filled with grief. Can you feel the pain?

There was so much sin in the world that God said He regretted creating man.  The collective mass of humanity was vile, corrupt, adulterated, tainted, spoiled, rank, foul, disgusting, and wretched, and God had taken all He was going to take.  This does not at all mean that He made a mistake in creating us.   Far from that, God knew man would sin when He put us here in the first place and so He made provision to forgive us, before the fact.  Because God knew that we would sin, does not mean He would not feel hurt by the way his children chose to live.  God saw His world with the eyes of a tender, loving father who sees the foolishness and stubbornness of a rebellious and disobedient child, which grieves him to the point that he wishes that he, had been childless. The word, ‘grief’ we implanted moments ago can be watered and allowed to grow.  Now, can you feel God’s sorrow? Can you feel his pain?  God knows beforehand what we are going to do, but that does not make it any less painful when we go ahead and do it, when we foolishly choose to reject Him.  

Revelation 16:1  And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.    

I believe we can get a glimpse of God’s heart by looking at our heart.  He feels agony and grief when His children willing turn away from Him.  Our sin wounds His heart.  He feels pain just as we do.

 Continued in Part B