September 21 - Tears in Heaven
September 21
Tears in Heaven
Bible Reading: Psalms 103:8-13
8The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy. 9He will not always strive with us, nor will He keep His anger forever. 10He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities. 11For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; 12As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. 13As a father pities his children, so the Lord pities those who fear Him.
TWO ANGELS SAT at a table in the Milky Way Cafe. They were sipping tea, sharing a piece of angel food cake (they really eat that stuff!), and swapping stories.
"Ooh!" said Kael, almost spilling his tea. "I've got a good one for you. I was on a Terra Class assignment and was given charge of a little kid. She was riding her tricycle down the sidewalk and must have hit a bump or something, because the tricycle stopped, and she went flying over the handlebars." He paused and took a sip of tea.
Ra'Adonoi cocked his head as if he were waiting for the punch line of a joke. Kael held up a hand to acknowledge that the story wasn't over. "So I'm at the girl's side in a flash of light, and she's all skinned up--her chin, her hands, her knees. And she's crying, and then I felt him."
"The Holy One?"
"The same," Kael said, nodding. "He was there. I mean, it was just a little girl who'd skinned her knees, but He was there."
"Was he checking up on you to make sure you did your job?" Ra'Adonoi asked.
Kael shook his head. "No. He wasn't there for me. He was there for her. And you know what else? I saw ..." Kael stopped for a moment, then continued. "I saw a tear roll down His cheek."
Ra'Adonoi nodded, smiling.
"She was just a little kid on a trike," Kael said, "but I think He cried some of her tears for her."
"Yeah," Ra'Adonoi said after a few moments. "I can believe that because of what happened to me in a place called Passo Fundo, Brazil...."
That story is fiction, of course; it never really happened. But maybe it could have. Because we know, from God's Word, that our God is a God of compassion. We know that He shares our sorrows and bears our burdens. "As a father has compassion on his children," the Bible says, "so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him" (Psalm 103:13, NIV).
And we know that it's right to be compassionate toward others because when we're compassionate, we're doing something that's like God, who is "compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love" (Psalm 103:8, NIV).
REFLECT: Why is compassion right (what makes it right)? Did you have any opportunities to be compassionate yesterday or today? How did you respond to those chances to make a right choice? How can you be more compassionate tomorrow?
PRAY: "Loving and compassionate God, I know it's right to be compassionate because You are compassionate. Please make me like You. Help me to look for chances to be compassionate to others today."