My son towers over me at nearly six feet tall. Hence, he typically refers to me as “little” and jokes that I can’t get items off high shelves. He also has very broad shoulders, so when you get a hug from my son, you get a hug! On my not-so-great days, his hugs are priceless.
This differentiation in height got me thinking about how big our God is. As I write this, I’m reminded of dozens of Scriptures that speak to the bigness of God, His power and His strength. Think Red Sea parting. Think feeding the multitudes with a little boy’s lunch. Think raising His Son from the dead.
Yet as big as God is, as powerful as He is, there’s a soft side to Him. We see one example of this in the gospel of John, which tells the story of Jesus’ friend Lazarus who had died. When Jesus arrived at the tomb, some four days after his death, He witnessed dozens of people crying. What did Jesus do?
“Jesus wept.” (John 11:35 NKJV)
The shortest verse in the Bible, but I think it’s one of the most powerful. The Son of God crying. So vulnerable. So real. So…like us. What do these two words tell us about Jesus?
Well, we see that Jesus had feelings of sadness, just like us. We see that Jesus loved His friends, just like us. We see that Jesus empathized with those who were hurting, just like us.
It would’ve been easy to leave these two words out of this story. I mean, moments later, Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, showcasing the amazing power of God. The apostle John could’ve jumped right to the miracle and skipped Jesus’ “crying jag.”
But I think John wanted us to see this. I think he wanted us to see the Jesus he experienced. John is what I call the lovey-dovey apostle. He always described himself as the “apostle whom Jesus loved.” (If you want to learn about God’s love for you, read everything that John wrote!)
Being the “touchy-feely” apostle that John was, I believe he was truly moved seeing the tears fall down Jesus’ face. Yet we shouldn’t be surprised, right? God is love and we see dozens of examples of His love in the Bible including the biggest example in giving His Son to die for us (John 3:16).
Yet, when we think of the bigness of God and His power, we may think He can’t relate to us mere mortals. But that is not true. Just look at the verse below:
“For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.” (Hebrews 4:15 NKJV)
Remember, while Jesus walked the earth, He was human. One hundred percent human. Everything we experience, He did too. He’s no stranger to betrayal, hurt, rejection, or loss. And just as Jesus relied on His heavenly Father for help with the “cares of this world,” we too can rest our head on His shoulders for the comfort we need because He cares for us (1 Peter 5:7).
You may be carrying a heavy burden…a loss, physical illness, or maybe a broken heart. I want to encourage you to be like John and rest your head on the big, broad shoulders of Jesus, our Lord and Savior.
If you’re carrying the weight of the world, maybe it’s time to transfer it to the One who’s got shoulders big enough to handle it.
P.S. If you are seeking to understand God’s love for you, I hope you will check out the Elevate The Day Podcast, “How to Get Closer to God” with Rev. Artie Kassimis. This message will encourage you and draw you closer to the love of our heavenly Father.