"Is not Ephraim my dear son, the child in whom I delight? Though I often speak against him, I still remember him. Therefore my heart yearns for him; I have great compassion for him," declares the Lord.

The tricky thing about how we envision God is the reality that he is both so alike us and yet also so different. It's easy to err both ways: Either we forget that we are made in God's image, meaning he can relate to us in so many ways, or we fall into the trap of a backwards understanding of the imago dei (being made in the image of God), thinking that God is made in our image, not we in his.

The truth is that because we are made in God's image, so many aspects of our character and how we experience the world come from our roots in him. We, however, have sin overlaid on that character, tarnishing and distorting much of his image when we are living outside of Christ. Thus enters the opportunity to discern - which aspects of my emotional reality reflect God's character, and which reveal sin's damaging effects?

Thankfully, we have Scripture to guide us! This is what we will be practicing together through this whole devo series. This week, as we discuss how the emotions of grief and sadness interact with our lives and the truth of God's compassion, we might find ourselves questioning our very grief. Is grief part of sin's impact or God's image?

Scripture seems to reveal to us that grief itself is not sinful, because we see God (including Jesus!) also feeling grief at times. In fact, it's kind of the whole story of the Old Testament. God's wrath or anger gets talked about a lot, but often that anger is paired with a deep grief that we don't talk about as much. But I think we should, because it's important to know that our grief can absolutely be Godly, depending on its source.

Our key verse today, Jeremiah 31:20 reveals just one moment that characterizes the overarching plot of the Old Testament: Israel rebels against God. God is grieved and angered by their sin. God disciplines as a loving parent does. And repeat. We can see this pattern from the beginning: God is so grieved by the overwhelming sin of man in the days of Noah that he allows the flood to wipe them out (Gen. 6:6). And in today's passage, his heartbreak is again reflected. Like a good parent, he assures Israel they must not mistake his discipline for apathy or hate. His compassion, love, and desire for their flourishing is what drives him to discipline, even though it's clearly breaking his heart to do so.

This passage has much to teach us about God's deep love and care for us, his children. But what does it reveal about Godly grief? Well, two things stand out about the grief Israel's actions bring up in God...

First, Godly grief is in response to sin. We see repeatedly in Scripture that sin and its effects on his people is what breaks God's heart. Sometimes I experience grief when something doesn't go how I want it to, and, while that's natural, I don't think it's necessarily God's best for my heart and mind. My circumstances might make me sad, but Godly grief is aroused by sin and its effects on our world. Let's be aware of that distinction.

Second, Godly grief is motivated by love. Sin breaks God's heart because he knows what it does to his people. He loves us so deeply that he hates to see sin wreaking havoc on our lives. But what about us? Is our grief motivated by love for others? When it is, we'll begin to see sin for the destructive force that it is in our lives and be grieved, just as our Father is.

So then, what is our response when we experience Godly grief? Well, God was grieved over and over by Israel, and yet, his response was still compassion (even when that looked like discipline) because of his great love for them. What would our lives look like if our greatest griefs were in response, not to unpleasant circumstances or not getting our way, but to sin and its effect on our world making things not how they are meant to be? What if we were so motivated by love for others that we were moved to authentic grief when they chose their own path instead of the Lord's? How would we respond differently? How would we interact with our friends, family, and neighbors, those who don't know Jesus? How would we pray?

Today's verse reminds us that God's response to his grief over sin in the lives of those he loves is great compassion. What will your response be?

Father, I humble myself before you. I need your new heart, God - mine is a mess. I want to care more about what's not right with this world than I care about getting what I want. I'm sorry for grieving things that don't hold eternal weight while neglecting those that do. Will you stir up in me a Godly grief that is grieved by sin and its effects on those you love so deeply? Thank you, Father, for giving me a new heart of flesh in place of my selfish heart of stone. In Jesus' name, Amen.