A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.....

So, I have been thinking about Isaiah 53 this week. Partly because of the Lenten season, and partly because - well I just am. Verses three and four keep playing in my mind over and over.

He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.

The whole thing of Jesus suffering, and the necessity of it is spinning in my head. I know people have many reasons and theories for this. It's complex with many nuances. So, without getting into all the theology behind this passage, it is comforting to know that God can truly understand what we humans are feeling because He felt it too in the person of His Son. It's easy for individuals to talk about their problems and for well meaning people to say they understand - although I am pretty cynical at times. If a person hasn't experienced it how can they even begin to say they know what their friend is talking about? Presume to know what they are feeling? Sure, they can sympathize, pray, and listen. Just please don't give people pat answers and "christianese." You can't truly understand until you have been there. And that's what it is about this verse in Isaiah 53 that keeps running in my head. He knows, He gets it, He has experienced it. And is able to enter into our suffering with us. This is just one small aspect of why. And as bad as I think my problems are His were exponentially worse at this point. Not only can He understand my pain, He can understand way beyond what I can even imagine.