"And Enoch said unto the Lord: How is it that thou canst weep, seeing thou art holy, and from all eternity to all eternity?
And were it possible that man could number the particles of the earth, yea, millions of earths like this, it would not be a beginning to the number of thy creations; and thy curtains are stretched out still; and yet thou art there, and thy bosom is there; and also thou art just; thou art merciful and kind forever;
And thou hast taken Zion to thine own bosom, from all thy creations, from all eternity to all eternity; and naught but peace, justice, and truth is the habitation of thy throne; and mercy shall go before thy face and have no end; how is it thou canst weep?"
Moses 7:29-31
This is an interesting question from Enoch to the Lord. And it's a good one, at least from our perspective. It is hard to see the immensity of God's creations and to see from our minute perspective how he could weep over us. God answers him, and he explains that we are the work of his hands, and he gave us agency in the Garden of Eden, and knowledge, and taught them to love each other and to choose him... but that they "hate their own blood" and are "without affection. He explains what will happen if they choose evil, and ends with "wherefore should not the heavens weep, seeing these shall suffer?" It's God, and the immensity of that idea and his reality is mind-blowing... but I think we can still relate. Whether it is children, or siblings, or friends, we all have watched people make choices that we know will harm them. Watched them walk into situations that we know will cause them pain, and that will be harder to extricate themselves from than they understand up front. But they demand the right to make the choice, even when we try to warn them. ... It's a hard thing to watch. Add to that, for God, the fact that he *could* stop it if he chose to. Fathers on Earth threaten to lock up their kids forever to protect them... God could actually do it. But he doesn't because he promised us our freedom to choose, and he won't make us slaves. So, he *still* has to watch us make unbelievably poor choices that will hurt us.
Luckily, of course, things aren't bad all the time, and we know that in the end God will make everyone as happy as it is possible for them to be, while still respecting their choices. And God can see the happy ending that we can't see... yet he still weeps for us. For our pain, even when it is temporary. It is hard for us to fathom in our limitations, but God loves each of us individually, and has a knowledge of and a relationship with us all as his unique, individual children. I'm not sure why we usually imagine to ourselves a God with weaknesses and limitations. Maybe because we have them, and so we ascribe them to everyone. God though, is without weakness or externally-imposed limitation. And so, even though there are so many of us, we are neither lost in the crowd nor overlooked by him. And despite his overwhelming power, he is not distracted by hunger for power or too many things to accomplish. His work *is* us, as our lives are so much about our relationship with him.
Today, let's look to God. Let's give him a chance in our lives... to get through our walls, to really speak to us. Let's listen, and consider, and work on making decisions that won't harm us in the long run. Let's try to avoid making the heavens weep over us... and instead build a relationship with a lot less potential for regret. :)
And were it possible that man could number the particles of the earth, yea, millions of earths like this, it would not be a beginning to the number of thy creations; and thy curtains are stretched out still; and yet thou art there, and thy bosom is there; and also thou art just; thou art merciful and kind forever;
And thou hast taken Zion to thine own bosom, from all thy creations, from all eternity to all eternity; and naught but peace, justice, and truth is the habitation of thy throne; and mercy shall go before thy face and have no end; how is it thou canst weep?"
Moses 7:29-31
This is an interesting question from Enoch to the Lord. And it's a good one, at least from our perspective. It is hard to see the immensity of God's creations and to see from our minute perspective how he could weep over us. God answers him, and he explains that we are the work of his hands, and he gave us agency in the Garden of Eden, and knowledge, and taught them to love each other and to choose him... but that they "hate their own blood" and are "without affection. He explains what will happen if they choose evil, and ends with "wherefore should not the heavens weep, seeing these shall suffer?" It's God, and the immensity of that idea and his reality is mind-blowing... but I think we can still relate. Whether it is children, or siblings, or friends, we all have watched people make choices that we know will harm them. Watched them walk into situations that we know will cause them pain, and that will be harder to extricate themselves from than they understand up front. But they demand the right to make the choice, even when we try to warn them. ... It's a hard thing to watch. Add to that, for God, the fact that he *could* stop it if he chose to. Fathers on Earth threaten to lock up their kids forever to protect them... God could actually do it. But he doesn't because he promised us our freedom to choose, and he won't make us slaves. So, he *still* has to watch us make unbelievably poor choices that will hurt us.
Luckily, of course, things aren't bad all the time, and we know that in the end God will make everyone as happy as it is possible for them to be, while still respecting their choices. And God can see the happy ending that we can't see... yet he still weeps for us. For our pain, even when it is temporary. It is hard for us to fathom in our limitations, but God loves each of us individually, and has a knowledge of and a relationship with us all as his unique, individual children. I'm not sure why we usually imagine to ourselves a God with weaknesses and limitations. Maybe because we have them, and so we ascribe them to everyone. God though, is without weakness or externally-imposed limitation. And so, even though there are so many of us, we are neither lost in the crowd nor overlooked by him. And despite his overwhelming power, he is not distracted by hunger for power or too many things to accomplish. His work *is* us, as our lives are so much about our relationship with him.
Today, let's look to God. Let's give him a chance in our lives... to get through our walls, to really speak to us. Let's listen, and consider, and work on making decisions that won't harm us in the long run. Let's try to avoid making the heavens weep over us... and instead build a relationship with a lot less potential for regret. :)
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