When We Hurt

"Where is God when we hurt?"

Our world reeks of disease, sickness, viruses, germs. Life isn't lived under a disease-free dome. We catch colds from one another; our bodies are disease prone because of genetics; toxins poison our air, food, and water.

Sooner or later, in one way or another, we get sick--sometimes mildly sick, seriously sick, or terminally sick. When we're sick we hurt.

So, where is God when we hurt? Has he left town? Is he unconcerned? Do more important matters summon his attention?

Jesus cared about sick people. He healed hundreds---individually, sometimes every sick person in a village. Compassion, not success or notoriety, motivated him. Jesus healed because he cared.

Does Jesus still care when we hurt? Paul wrote, "Love never dies." If that's true, then Jesus still cares for sick and hurting persons.

Then why doesn't God heal our hurts? Anemic faith? Maybe. We're in the school of suffering? Maybe. God deleted supernatural healing from his menu? Maybe. Not everyone, even with strong faith, is healed? Maybe.

Paul was no stranger to pain: "I was given the gift of a handicap." He hurt. His pain limited his activity and worked on his emotions: "Satan's angel did his best to get me down." Discouragement camped around his soul.

Paul "begged God to remove it." He did what we do. What sane person enjoys pain? And God answered Paul's persistent begging: "then he told me, 'My grace is enough; it's all your need. My strength comes unto its own in your weakness" (2 Cor. 12).

That's it?

That's it!

Healing withheld. God offered his child a dose of strong-grace instead. And to chase away the demon of despair, Paul was expected to gab God's enabling-grace--strong enough to help him take the next step.

When getting rid of our pain is all we think about we're in danger of missing Christ's strength moving in on our weakness. Only when we let Jesus take over can we duplicate Paul's experience--"the weaker I get, the stronger I become."

First Love

Is it possible? "He loved us first" (I Jn).

Papa-God loved us first. Incredible, yet true. Spiritual beggars. Morally bankrupt. Soiled souls. Yet ... Papa loved us first. No strings attached. No prior 'oughts' or 'have-to's.' Love gushed from His heart to us.

Why?

What can we add to God? What advantage can we offer the One who is already complete and self-existent? We have nothing to offer to enhance him.

Why? We do not know, and we may never know. He loves us because he loves us. We know Papa loves us and that is enough for us here.

And Papa never stops loving us even if we never love him. His love endures forever and has no limits of time or space or quantity or quality. His love is like a bottomless, shoreless ocean into which we are invited to swim.

Love leaves us speechless. At best, we bow in joyful silence and embrace the One who has already embraced us.

"Greater love has no man than this," Jesus said, "that he lay down his life for his friends." Beaten beyond recognition, spiked to a cross, he cried out, "Father, forgive them, they don't know what they're doing." Love sacrificed himself even when we betrayed him, beat him, and spat in his face.

"God loved the world so much that he gave his Son." He still does.

Love can't rest. It's compelled to give. It gives no matter what the cost. Papa's loved us first. Why? That he might call us his beloved.