A sense of grief

I have a sense that something is off in this world. It is a sense of grief that weighs on me, a burden that God has placed in me.

Let me define this grief:

• A sadness because of the divisions in relationships, homes, churches and nations.
• A sadness because of the anger, judgmentalism and condemnation people foist on one another.
• A sadness over the oppression, abuse and violence that people perpetrate against others.
• A sadness over the bondage that people are in.
• A sadness because of the vain and empty pursuit of things that do not matter.
• A sadness because of the lack of love, care, empathy or compassion people have for others. 
• A sadness because of the smug, arrogant and dismissive attitudes people have towards those who live, look, sound, smell, speak or behave differently. 
• A sadness because of the unnecessary pain and suffering so many people endure daily.

I am grieved because I know that God’s heart is hurting, and He has placed His heart inside of me and therefore I feel this pain. I am grieved because God has made a better way for all who will accept it. I am grieved because God’s gospel, God’s kingdom, and God’s church can offer the better way if we will receive it, live it and share it. 

I know the only answer for this grief is the salvation, sanctification and abundant life that God offers to people, even right now. The eternal answer for this grief is the reality that God will set all things straight one day, but that answer is approaching and yet not fully here. Furthermore I have a grief over those who may be finally impenitent and who will not be in the presence of the Lord forever. This hurts my heart and I know it constantly hurts the heart of God.

I know that God will wipe every tear away from our eyes and we will have joy and peace in His presence forever. But I weep for the lost. The ones lost now and the ones who will be lost forever. 

But until I am finally united with Him in glory, may I always carry around this sadness and grief so that I will ever and always have compassion towards others and live my life out of the heart of the Father. Rather than trying to ignore this grief, may I realize it is an expression of God’s love living in me and that it should spur me on to fasting, prayer, sacrifice, service and sharing the gospel at all costs. What else can I do? It is like a fire shut up in my bones and I cannot hold it in! Lord help us, Lord have mercy, Lord save us!