Daily Meditation - Man of Sorrows

Man of sorrows, what a name, 
For the Son of God who came,
Ruined sinners to reclaim, 
Hallelujah, what a Savior!

This is an old hymn that I often sing to my children at bed time.  They have all 5 verses memorized at this point.  The first verse reflects a thought from Isaiah 53:3, "He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.  As one from whom men hide their faces, he was despised, and we esteemed him not."

Years ago my friend asked me, "Do you want to be more like Jesus?"  Of course my answer was, "YES!".  He then asked "what would that look like for you?"  I said "more kind, more loving, more generous, more obedient to Gods commands, etc."  He then challenged me by asking "What about being "a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief?"  
He was not suggesting that I be a glum, morbid person who no one wanted to be around, but in the context of what I was asking him at the time, "should I get involved in a relationship with a women who had a 6 year old son.  When the future could hold many unforeseen challenges because of it."  My friend was asking me to consider Galatians 6:2, "Bear one another's burdens."  Is it possible to bear another burdens without burdening yourself?

Isaiah 53 does not paint a picture of a morbidly depressed Messiah that no one wanted to be around, rather a Savior who burdened Himself with our sins and griefs, because of His redemptive love. Isaiah 53:4 "Surely He has borne OUR griefs and carried OUR sorrows."  
-In our current state of world crisis let us consider the full range of what it means to "be more like Jesus."  "Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control," are the fruits of the Spirit, but they will not be produced in us without our being more like Jesus, "a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief."   A man willing to bear on himself the griefs and sufferings of others.  "For the JOY set before him, He ENDURED the cross" Hebrews 12:2

Please take time today to meditate on Isaiah 53, and pray about what it may mean for you to become "more like Jesus" in our current crisis, and for the rest of your life.

In Christ, 
Rich Shoemaker