Will it ever end? Two car bombs in Algiers targeted a United Nations office and an Algerian government building yesterday, killing dozens of people. Today's news reports that 60 or more people may have died. The terrorist group Al Qaeda claimed responsibility, posting a message on Islamist Web sites with pictures of two men it claimed were suicide bombers. Meanwhile, The New York Times is describing the medical crisis in Afghanistan among villagers still living under Taliban rule. The pain and despair of many in our world seems beyond description or resolution.

The good news is that Isaiah promised a Christmas Christ who would be our "Everlasting Father," literally our "Father forever" (Isaiah 9:6). At the grave of his friend Lazarus, the Messiah proved himself to be that kind of compassionate Savior when "Jesus wept" (John 11:35). This is not a God the world knows. Muslims have a God of legalistic enforcement but not a weeping heart. Buddhists and Hindus have no category for a personal, suffering God. Most Americans think that God helps those who help themselves. Honestly, do you picture the Lord of the universe with tears in his eyes?

And tears in his heart? God's word says, "We do not have a High Priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin" (Hebrews 4:15).

I know it seems nonsensical to say that Jesus faced every temptation we do. The first century didn't have marijuana, or sexually explicit movies or web sites. But sins in principle have not changed, just their expression. Substance abuse, sexual temptation, integrity issues and moral failures were just as real then as today.

Jesus faced them all, and more than we do. The longer you withstand a temptation, the harder and more subtle it becomes. If you won't embezzle funds at work, perhaps you'll shade an expense report or tax deduction. Because he never sinned, Jesus faced sin and temptation we know nothing about.

And so he knows your temptations, your pain, your suffering, your disappointments, your problems and questions and dilemmas. He knows them better than you do. He sees them with the infinite insight possessed only by God himself. He knows your hurting heart. And he weeps.

What is the relevance of Jesus' tears for your pain? Let's continue tomorrow.

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