Day 33 – The Father's Pain

Cantonese

Mandarin

English

Through the previous reflections, have you gained a better understanding of the nature of our Heavenly Father?

He prefers collaboration to competition. He desires mercy over justice. Even though He is THE JUDGE, He withholds His anger to give us chances to repent.

Instead of demanding from us, He likes to give unconditionally and abundantly. And in order to save us from eternal damnation and to be with us forever, while we were still sinners, He sacrificed His only Son so that everyone who believes in Him might not perish but might have eternal life (John 3:16). With this kind of love, imagine how much it hurts our Heavenly Father to see us fighting with each other, and killing each other with all sorts of visible and invisible weapons. All these have pierced His Heart…

There has not been a single moment since the creation of us human beings when Our Heavenly Father is not in pain because of our sins. Not a single moment! The lance of our sin has never stopped piercing His Heart. Can you imagine what kind of pain Our God suffers as He witnesses His children fighting against and killing each other? Can you imagine that you and I are the soldier who broke open the side and pierced Jesus’ Heart?

What pierces the Father's Heart? It is when His children do not appreciate His love, do not trust Him but decide to leave home, wander aimlessly in dangers, become rotten apples of the society, forgo their identity as God's children to pursue other idols, misinterpret His love for us, etc., etc. There are millions of reasons that can break our Father's Heart, but there is one thing that hurts Him most. That is when He witnesses the fighting and killing of one another among His beloved children. We might have experienced our parents telling us that their final wish on earth is that their children will love one another and be united even in their absence. That's our Father's Heart!

Look at our families and the society, what are all those fights about? For wealth, power, status, fame, pleasures,…? If you say "no" to all these, then what? Let us take a deep breath and face this question! For what? What are the benefits of all these fights on earth?

Our salvation matters most to our Heavenly Father. His ultimate wish is to be united with every single child. Every single one of us that He has created, because He loves each one of us!

Our killing and fighting against each other, in whatever form, is one of the most destructive sins that will eventually suffocate and kill our souls. That is the opposite of the two most important commandments of all: Love Your God and Love Your Neighbor As Yourself.

By fighting with and killing each other, what can we gain after all?

"What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? Or what can one give in exchange for his life?"

(Matthew 16:26)

REFLECTION

Take a moment to feel the pains of our Heavenly Father witnessing all the hatreds, accusations, injustice, violence, persecutions, killings, and all forms of merciless attacks against one another on earth.

In what ways are you participating in these violent acts directly or indirectly?

In what ways are you like the soldier piercing the Heart of Christ with a lance? What are the behaviours and habits, in deeds or in words, that keep breaking the Father's Heart?

TODAY'S PRAYER

Dear Abba Father, thank you for allowing me to feel Your pains. I have never imagined how painful You have been ever since You have created us. Who are we? We are only dust. Yet, Your love for us is so incredibly deep! I used to think that You were immune to all the pains and sufferings of this world. Now, I have come to realize that not only is it painful for You to see all the fights and killings among us, but You are also most affected by all of our sufferings, especially those caused by our sins and hatreds against one another. Lord, save me from my sins and deliver me from every evil. Please turn me into an instrument of peace and Your holy love to this broken world!

I ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

From a Distance

This song is so beautiful, describing how the world should be and what it is like now… and more beautifully is how God is with us, only that it’s not just from a distance, He is in our midst and in each one of us! He is Emmanuel —— GOD IS WITH US!

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Sincerely invite you to share the reflections that inspires you by this day's retreat.