"Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn." Romans 12:15
"Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. 'I am willing,' he said. 'Be clean!'" Mark 1:41
"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!" Philippians 4:4
"I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart" [for lost people]. Romans 9:2
The God of the Bible is a passionate being, and all humans are created in his image. But unlike God, our emotions are far from perfect. In fact, our emotions have become one of the greatest weaknesses in our sinful hearts, vulnerable to all sorts of flaming arrows of temptation shot by the enemy. For this reason, Christ entered the world and lived a perfect daily life among us, including a life of perfect human emotions. Maturing Christians develop a healthy emotional life patterned after that of Jesus Christ.
Christ was consistently emotional. He was moved with compassion for the sorrows and griefs of others, like the widow at Nain who was burying her only son; we are told his heart went out to her (Luke 7:13). Jesus also was filled with joy through the Holy Spirit at the successful mission of the seventy-two (Luke 10:21). He was filled with internal rage toward death itself before raising Lazarus from the dead (John 11:33), and with righteous rage at the defilement of the temple (John 2:16). Most poignantly, Jesus wept over rebellious Jerusalem (Luke 19:41). Jesus is the perfect pattern of a healthy emotional life. He wasn’t cold or distant; yet neither was he a slave to momentary passions based on carnal motives. All Christians should yearn to see the Holy Spirit work deeply in our emotions to conform them at every moment to Christ.
"All human emotions are based on our perception of the truth."
We need such work because the Bible also reveals how messed up human emotions often are. We see sinful anger in Jonah (Jonah 4:9-11); unbelieving sadness in Mary Magdalene before the empty tomb (John 20:13); sinful depression in the two disciples on the Road to Emmaus (Luke 24:25); sinful fear in Peter when he denied knowing Jesus three times (Mark 14:71); sinful anxiety in people who worry about food and clothing (Matthew 6:25-34); sinful lack of compassion on the part of the priest and Levite in the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:31-32). If we are honest with ourselves, we know that our emotions are often messed up. Even worse, many Christians are led astray from obedience to clear commands in the Bible by our unruly feelings. We don’t “feel like” obeying certain commands, so we don’t.
Thanks be to God, the Holy Spirit is able to transform our emotional life by first transforming our thought life. All human emotions are based on our perception of the truth. If our perception is faulty, our emotions will be as well. Furthermore, all emotions flow from the condition of our hearts. If we allow our sin nature to rule our hearts, our emotions will be selfish. As God works maturity in us, we will more and more live out a healthy emotional life patterned after Christ.
