Being in touch with one’s emotions is a popular theme today. Gone are the days when to be emotionless, stoic, disconnected from all that happens around you was highly celebrated. Where our society might have once idolized the British “stiff upper lip,” and a cool, detached presence in emotional situations, we now delight in a person who is not afraid to show their deep feelings—if the circumstances call for tears, then tears it is; if joy, then rejoice; if sorrow and sadness, then that too should be revealed. Indeed, some might easily argue that we have gone too far in this direction!
But, for as much as it is “in” to talk and show our emotions, we rarely consider “the emotional state” of our God.
There is good reason for this neglect. For humans, our emotions are often tied up with our sinful actions—we react, often poorly, to emotive stimuli. In retrospect, our emotionally-driven actions are frequently sinfully laden. Overwhelmed by feelings of pain, sorrow, pleasure or joy, we respond thoughtlessly, often unjustly. The thought that God might act towards us in a similarly emotional way is disturbing, and, indeed frightening.
Historically, the Church has always maintained that our God is “impassive,” that is, that He lacks “passions.” The point here is to stress that the Lord does not respond out of an emotional pique, or that His anger gets “the better of Him,” or that when He feels happy, He treats us somehow differently. Our God is not an emotional Being in the way that humans so frequently are—one driven, impacted, even controlled, by the subjective whims of varying feelings. The Lord acts justly; the foundation of His actions is His own moral and holy character. He is not a victim, dragged along by uncontrolled passions, as are so many of the Greek, Roman or Norse deities.
However, this impassivity is often mistaken for a lack of emotional ability. Yes, it is true that the Scriptures tell us that God always acts in this world righteously and justly, not driven by an emotional outburst. But, that does not mean that He is portrayed in the Bible as some stoic, unmovable, emotionless Being. God’s emotions are frequently on display—His joy in His people, His wrath at sin, His anger at injustice, His pleasure in righteousness. The picture of God as some rigid statuesque character who remains unmoved by the struggles, sorrows, injustices and joys of this world is a far, far cry from the scriptural description of our God.
The Gospel story is filled with the passions of our God—the Lord’s wrath at sin, His frustration with the folly of His people, His joy at the incarnation, Christ’s passion in Gethsemane, the pain and sorrow of the cross, the beauty of the resurrection, the awe of the ascension, the pleasure God feels over one saved soul. We can never, ever afford to be blind to our God’s emotional character—after all, we are made in His image! Yes, the Lord does not react to His emotions as we do, sinfully dragged along; yes, we need to acknowledge that our Lord is “impassive” in His character. But, He is also wondrously engaged in every way with His people.
Come and join us in worship as we explore the heart of our God together this Sunday. Read Isaiah 55.
- Verses 1-3. Notice the irony in these verses—”buy food with no money”—what might the implication of this be? How is the “food” described? What value is placed on our labor?
- Verses 6-7. We are being encouraged to act here in these verses—what are we being charged to do? How does this square with the previous verses? What is the tone, the emotions of these verses?
- Verses 8-9. The word “for” connects what is about to be said with what has just been said. What is the connection here? How does the heights of God’s thoughts flow from the charge to seek Him?
- Verses 10-11. Again, “for” connects these verses. Why/how? Why would the imagery of rain and the impact of rain on the harvest be a good metaphor for Isaiah and his people? What would a comparable image be for us today?
- Verses 12-13. There’s that “for” again! Try to imagine/picture these verses. What is God trying to communicate here? What is the power behind these images?
By Henry Knapp