When They Bleed, He Bleeds

Hey there.

A lot has happened since I wrote here last... I finished my first year at CC, spent a month taking a class in Italy, and am now in New Hampshire for the rest of the summer, nannying for a family whom I adore! I've been back in the States for exactly a week, and finally feel ready to start processing all that has been happening in my life. The first order of business was to sit down and have some serious "soul-searching" with my King.  This past year has brought a lot of changes to my life, but I'm thankful that He is still the first I want to run to whenever I get the chance.  His presence really does get sweeter with each passing season.

I've been reading through Psalms this summer, and because I was nervous about bringing my Bible overseas with me, I have the only travel-sized Bible I could find before I left, which happened to be a Message translation.  Reading the Psalms in the Message is different, and while I miss my translation and all of its familiar passages, I've really enjoyed reading with a fresh set of eyes.  Tonight, Psalms 72:11-14 stood out to me in a new way:

"All kings will fall down and worship,
and godless nations sign up to serve him,
Because he rescues the poor at the first sign of need,
He opens a place in his heart for the down-and-out,
he restores the wretched of the earth.
He frees them from tyranny and torture -
when they bleed, he bleeds;
when they die, he dies."

There have been times in the past year that I have found myself slipping into feelings of discouragement or apathy and I often change my perspective by thinking about the day when "all created beings in heaven and on earth - even those long ago dead and buried - will bow in worship before this Jesus Christ, and call out in praise that he is the Master of all, to the glorious honor of God the Father." (Philippians 2:10-11)

It may be strange, but I try to picture specific people and friends kneeling before Jesus - not just the overwhelmingly vast crowd of people from all nations and generations that will be included in that act of worship.  Doing this reminds me that while I may look foolish for now, it won't matter in that moment of encounter.  And it also reminds me of just how desperately I want the people I love and interact with to be a part of the crowd of willing-worshippers.  I don't want that day to be the first time they bow in acknowledgement of Him. 

"All kings will fall down and worship,
and godless nations sign up to serve him..."

One of the things I love about traveling is realizing just how big my world is.  It's silly, but I tend to forget very quickly and easily just how not the center of the universe I am.  I end up putting God in a box, thinking I understand Him and losing the awe and wonder of realizing that every face I see when I travel - and billions of others I will never see - is intimately known and loved by my King.

For me, they're strangers. For Him, they're children.
I can't get over it... I can't even comprehend how deeply God knows me - more than I will ever know myself - and yet He knows every person who has ever lived just as much.  He has given each of them a story, and is working in and around their lives even when ignorant people like myself think that he is more occupied with me and my story.

"Because he rescues the poor at the first sign of need,
He opens a place in his heart for the down-and-out,
he restores the wretched of the earth."

His love is so overwhelming.  He is worthy of more than we can ever offer, and yet we so often think we could take Him or leave Him.  We love Him when it's convenient, He loves us with a love that "stops at nothing - it sweeps everything before it. Flood waters can't drown love, torrents of rain can't put it out." (Song of Songs 8:6-7)

One day - voluntarily or involuntarily - we will all fall on our faces in awe and acknowledgement of Him.  Every nation, every heart will confess that He is Lord.  One day He will reveal what He's been up to all along, and He will say,

"'I'm calling this meeting to order,
I'm ready to set things right.
When the earth goes topsy-turvy
And nobody knows which end is up,
I nail it all down,
I put everything in place again."
~ Psalm 75:2-3

I am humbled by how often I forget that God is at work at a larger scale than I will ever have the capacity to understand or imagine.  In every heart, every home, every nation, he is setting things right. He is using His imperfect people so its a pretty messy business, but somehow He works through our topsy-turvy ways to put everything in place again.

What a relief, to know He hasn't forgotten.  That He is not, has never been, and never will be far away.  His love binds us to Him in a powerful way.

"He frees them from tyranny and torture -
when they bleed, he bleeds;
when they die, he dies."

My God is near. He bleeds when I bleed. And somehow, in a way that I will never comprehend, He is equally near to the man or woman halfway around the world that I passed on the street but will never see again.

"You've kept track of [my/his/her] every toss and turn
through the sleepless nights,
Each tear entered in your ledger,
each ache written in your book."
~ Psalm 56:8

I'm just sitting here on my bed, completely and totally overwhelmed by this truth. I serve an incredible God. There is nothing more I could possibly say tonight that would appropriately communicate the depth of my awe or gratitude for this revelation.  So with that, I will say goodnight. 

Buona notte!