Does God Grieve?

                Did you ever consider whether God grieves?  In recent months, I’ve had several friends who have experienced the loss of loved ones.  Their grief is still raw, but at the same time, they rejoice because their loved ones were believers and are now experiencing the joy of heaven.  Grief and joy filling the same moments seems impossible, but as Christians, we’ve probably all seen these two emotions joined in a way that is beyond our comprehension.

                My friends are facing their first Christmas without their beloved family members.  I’ve been there.  I know that their grief probably comes in waves as their loss becomes a series of firsts.  There’s the first Thanksgiving without them at the table.  There’s the first time they don’t need to buy a gift or have that special dish that only their loved one appreciated.  There’s the first gathering of all the family without them.  Those “firsts” make the grief raw and new, but at the same time, they recall cherished memories, and the joy can overwhelm the grief—at least for a few moments. 

                As we prepare to celebrate the birth of our Savior, I couldn’t help but wonder what our Father, God felt that day.  While we rejoice that the long-awaited Messiah was born, did God grieve, knowing the fate that awaited baby Jesus?  I don’t know the answer, but I do know that God experiences emotions—He is just much better at controlling them than we are. 

                During the time of Noah, when God saw how wicked and evil the world had become, He grieved that He had ever created mankind (Gen. 6: 6).  The writer of Psalm 78 tells us how the rebellious spirit of the Israelites in the desert grieved God (Psalm 78: 40).  The prophet, Isaiah, tells us that God suffered when the Israelites suffered, and their rebellion “grieved his Holy Spirit” (Isaiah 63: 9 – 10 NIV84).   The apostle, Paul, tells us clearly that we can grieve the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4: 30).

                I don’t think it is a stretch to think that God felt mixed emotions the day Christ was born.  On the one hand, He was sending the Messiah to redeem His people.  Through that baby, the great divide that had been created by sin was about to be crossed.  Once more, He would experience unity between Himself and His creation.  His plan that He had initiated at the beginning of time was about to move to the next level.  What joy that must have brought Him!

                On the other hand, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are one.  They were each present at the beginning of time, and while they each have distinct characters, they are still one—a concept that we find difficult to understand.  On the day that Christ was born, I think God looked into the future and saw that day when the Son of God would hang on a cross, carrying the burden of sin for all mankind.  In that moment, the Father knew that there would be that moment when He and His Son would be separated.  He knew that agony of hearing Christ cry out, “My God, my God.  Why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27: 46).

                The birth of Christ is a day of rejoicing for us but for God, it may have been a day of both joy and grief.  Just as we mourn the loss of our loved ones but rejoice that they are at home with the Father, He rejoiced that His children were about to be reunited with Him, but only because His Son was about to pay the ultimate price. 

                I don’t know how to respond to that except to say, “What an awesome God we serve!”

John 1: 1 - 15