The old dead theologians like Calvin said God was impassible, meaning God does not have emotions. ‘Impassibility is the notion that God does not suffer and cannot be acted upon or moved by any other source. This is because, as the Westminster Confession puts it, God is “a most pure spirit, invisible, without body, parts, or passions.”’- from Ligonier Ministries

But many many people disagree; even people in the Reformed Tradition disagree. 

We know that the essence of God, which is love, never changes. God’s love lasts forever.

When we look at Jesus we see the fulness of God. “For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ..” Colossians 1:19

Jesus shows us the Father. Jesus had feelings of sorrow, joy, and compassion. Jesus cried…at the tomb of Lazarus; over the city of Jerusalem. In Isaiah 53 it says that Jesus would take on our pain and that he was a man of sorrows.

And what Jesus experiences is experienced by the whole Trinity. We can’t separate them. The Bible even tells us that we can make the Holy Spirit sad. ‘And do not make the Holy Spirit sad. The Spirit is God’s proof that you belong to him. God gave you the Spirit to show that God will make you free when the final day comes’.-Ephesians 4:30 

Listen, we are children of God. Don’t parents have feelings for their children? Of course, they do. I can remember when my children were hurt in some kind of accident or were ill. I could feel the pain within me. I remember sending one of our sons to his room as a punishment saying, ‘This hurts me more than it hurts you.’ We are created in the image of God and if we can feel, we know that our God can feel. God even feels the pain of our sins. 

In the Prodigal Son parable, we see the joyous father hugging his son after the son returns from a wayward life. That’s God hugging us. No scolding, no judgment. Just love. In that same chapter, Jesus tells of the JOY in heaven when a soul is reconciled with God. 

There is no sorrow that is not known to our loving heavenly father. God lives in us and with us and feels everything. While God is not overwhelmed by our hurt, nevertheless God experiences it. 

As we get closer to Lent let us remember these words: “he (Jesus) began to be deeply distressed and troubled. ‘My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch.’” Mark 14:33-34 

Whatever you may be going through God is going through it with you. And remember the joyful times. God is sharing those with you too. Blessings.