The Heart of Christ: A Deep Well of Mercy and Love
As we journey through life, we often find ourselves burdened by our own weaknesses and failures. We may feel like we’re a disappointment to God, and that our struggles are a distraction from His greatness. But what if I told you that the opposite is true? What if I told you that Jesus Christ is actually comforted when we come to Him with our burdens, our sins, and our failures?
A Doctor’s Compassion
Imagine a doctor who has traveled deep into the jungle to provide medical care to a primitive tribe afflicted with a contagious disease. He has the cure, but the afflicted refuse to receive it. They want to heal on their own terms. Finally, a few brave young men step forward to receive the care being freely provided. What does the doctor feel? Joy. His joy increases to the degree that the sick come to him for help and healing.
Christ’s Heart of Love
So it is with Christ. He doesn’t get flustered and frustrated when we come to Him for fresh forgiveness, for renewed pardon, with distress and need and emptiness. That’s the whole point. It’s what He came to heal. He went down into the horror of death and plunged out through the other side in order to provide a limitless supply of mercy and grace to His people.
Our Tendency to Hold Back
We tend to think that when we approach Jesus for help in our need and mercy amid our sins, we somehow detract from Him, lessen Him, impoverish Him. But the truth is, Christ’s heart is not drained by our coming to Him; His heart is filled up all the more by our coming to Him. When we hold back, lurking in the shadows, fearful and failing, we miss out not only on our own increased comfort but on Christ’s increased comfort.
Unbelieving Hearts
Our unbelieving hearts tread cautiously here. Is it not presumptuous audacity to draw on the mercy of Christ in an unfiltered way? Shouldn’t we be measured and reasonable, careful not to pull too much on Him? But Jesus Christ is comforted when we draw from the riches of His atoning work. He lives for this. This is what He loves to do.
We Are Part of Him
We are part of Christ’s body. How does a head feel about his own flesh? He nourishes and cherishes it. So with Christ and believers. We are part of Him. This is why the risen Christ asks a persecutor of His people, “Why are you persecuting me?” Jesus Christ is comforted when we draw from the riches of His atoning work, because His own body is getting healed.
Come as You Are
You don’t need to unburden or collect yourself and then come to Jesus. Your very burden is what qualifies you to come. Jesus isn’t like you. Even the most intense of human love is but the faintest echo of heaven’s cascading abundance. Come to Him as you are, and let Him comfort you with His deep well of mercy and love.
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