Jesus is Man...

My dog Kaiser is truly mans best friend. We bought him as a puppy when he was only six weeks old, however we had gotten to known the breeders pretty well and had visited him even before he was old enough for us to bring him home. Ally (my daughter) was just four years old at the time. With his eyes just opened, he was the only all black Dane in the litter, his floppy ears as big as his enormous paws. He was truly awkward and terribly clumsy (a foreshadow of the years to come). But even at that age he loved being close to us. We waited in anticipation of him weaning from his mother so that we could take him home. The early part of his life was trying, to say the least. We found that he is a very sensitive dog and actually experiences separation anxiety when we leave. But when he’s with us he finds comfort in being close. Over four years later and still his greatest comfort is his closeness to us. He spoons us during naps and at night, and takes every opportunity to be with his family. Giving us sad eyes when its time for him to get down off the bed. Not so much because he was comfortable, but because he couldn‘t be close to us. He races clumsily to the door at our arrival, even if I’ve only been gone 30 seconds. His excitement when we come through the door is so passionate its almost dangerous. Bucking and snorting like a bronco with a small stuffed animal present for us in his mouth, he wags his tail fanatically. He absolutely loves us. His loyalty far surpasses even ours for him. Ally nimbly ducks and dodges past his wet kisses quite often while playing a game of tag or fetch with a stuffed animal. It looks pretty funny when Kaiser outweighs the master (Ally) by 100 pounds. But they play so well together and usually end it with a hug and kiss by both of them. We almost lost him a few years ago to bloat which is a dangerous condition for dogs. The saddest thing was watching him wither away with those sad brown eyes staring at us, too sick to move most of the time. But we stuck with him through thick and thin regardless of the monetary cost. He’s worth every penny and is healthy as an ox now. Our family absolutely loves him. So your probably wondering why I’m telling you about one of my best friends of four years? Well, today at one in the afternoon we will be permanently surrendering him to an animal rescue, as we are unable to have multiple pets in our condo. We didn’t have the heart to tell my daughter until just yesterday evening. There is absolutely no way to describe in writing the sorrow and anguish I saw in her eyes as tears uncontrollably ran down her face. She instantly needed comforting. This is her first true loss of someone she loves so much. It literally broke my heart to watch her suffer, and I cried. I cried out of agonizing sadness for Ally and my wife. It is very difficult to watch those we love so much, suffer so badly. If you haven’t experienced this type of sorrow yet, you have not lived long enough.

As humans, there is something in sorrow that allows us to engage in it with others. There is an affectionate interaction we feel toward one another. We share in others sorrow, making it our own. And in compassion, we offer strength, and healing to those grieving, even in the midst of our own sorrow. It is our ability to knowingly and actively love, comfort and show empathy that makes us human.

But why all this? Why the long, sad story? Why the story about some stupid pet that you’ve never even met ? Why should you care about a 9 year old kids broken heart? Or her dad that loves her more than words could express? There are two words in the Bible that give authority to mans overwhelming sorrow filled experiences. These two words make up the shortest verse in scripture, however they speak the loudest about Christ as fully man. John 11:35, “Jesus wept.“ Just as you have wept, and I have wept, Jesus wept. He felt an overwhelming compassion for those He loved. Truly we can all relate to pain and misery, grief and tremendous suffering. So can Jesus, our Father who sees the sorrow and anguish in our hearts. Our Father, who loves us more than words could express. Jesus wept.

Originally I had prepared to give some deep theological thought to this post, commenting to “Jesus as man“. I however was not prepared for what God had in store for me with the news that the rescue could take my friend so much sooner than I expected. Then to see the pain my daughter was going through literally broke my heart, and it was then that I realized theology and study meant so little. Because the truth is “Jesus wept,“ And we instantly knew how each other felt…