1 John 1:5
People who are depressed in their spiritual lives because they think being a Christian is so hard don’t match up with true Biblical Christianity because John says there’s no dark side to God; there’s nothing negative about Him; there’s not a mean bone in His body.
Therefore, a sour, dour, dark, and discouraged Christian is an oxymoron, a contradiction of terms.
‘Wait a minute,’ you say. ‘Wasn’t Jesus the Man of Sorrows?’ (Isaiah 53:3).
Yes. Jesus wept over Jerusalem (Luke 19:41). He wept at the tomb of Lazarus (John 11:35). When Jesus wept, however, it was always for others.
What about when He wept in the Garden of Gethsemane?
The night before He would go to the Cross, Jesus sweat blood because He was terrified not by the pain of the Cross, the spittle that would run down His face, or the flagellum that would rip into His back.
Jesus was almost literally scared to death by the thought of being temporarily separated from His Father when He would be made sin on our behalf.
‘What if I can’t pay the bills?’ we wonder. ‘What if the car doesn’t work?’ ‘What if I lose a loved one?’ ‘What’s next?’ ‘Who else?’ These are the things which frighten us.
But separation from the Father? We don’t even give it a second thought.
God have mercy on us.
We’re terrified of all the wrong things.
