Balance: rational and emotional

Speaker: Matt Hails

Notes

Mark 12:30. Jesus was perfectly balanced - fully experiencing and expressing human emotions, yet completely clear-minded and purposeful in following God's will.

John 11:1 - 44. Note:

• The fact that Jesus waited for 2 days between hearing the news and going to Bethany was a very deliberate decision on his part. He knew God's reason and purpose, which was that Lazarus would die and be raised to life, in order to bring glory to God. The waiting actually increased the glory ultimately brought to God through this miracle. (v4 - 6, 15).

• Before Jesus left, he already knew that Lazarus was dead (v14).

• He knew that he would raise Lazarus back to life. (v4, 11, 23).

Despite that, Jesus was deeply moved by the grief and sadness of Mary and Martha (v32 - 38). So, Jesus deeply cared for Lazarus, Mary and Martha, and was able to express his emotions in that respect, yet he overruled those emotions in order to fully follow his father's will in this matter, by waiting before going to Bethany.

Emotions are good. God created us with feelings, and it's good and right that we should express them. Jesus lived with a full emotional range:

• Joy - Luke 10:21.

• Anger - John 2:13 - 17; Mark 3:5.

• Sorrow - Matt 26:38 - 39; Luke 22:42 - 44.

• Compassion - Luke 7:13; Matt 14:14; 15:32; Mark 1:41.

Often compassion is God speaking to us - e.g. Luke 7:13. Allow God to move you, to speak to you through your emotions.

For many of us, over the years we've responded to hurt and difficulty by shrinking back into ourselves, repressing our true feelings rather than expressing them. But God can release us from that, and he want to do so.

Our emotions should be subject to our minds. Our Mind applies faith to God's Word, and feelings will follow.

facts -> faith -> feelings

Here, rational means knowing and doing God's will, irrespective of how you feel. Our emotions should be expressed, but must be kept in the right place, e.g. Eph 4:26. Doing so requires that we are open to having God change our ways of thinking - Romans 12:2. Following God requires active effort to determine what pleases him and how to live his way, Eph 5:10. Our mind must be under influence of God and his word.

Application

Use some of the questions below to initiate discussion. (Pick and choose - there are probably too many to use in a single discussion, and not necessarily in the appropriate order. Choose those you think more appropriate for your group).

1. Spock (Star Trek) said: “I've spent a whole lifetime learning to hide my feelings”

   Tennyson wrote: “'Tis better to have loved and lost / than never to have loved at all.”

   Which one do you identify with more closely?

2. Read John 11:32 - 38. Why do you think Jesus cried?

3. Read Luke 7:11 - 16. What caused Jesus to raise the young man? How is this different from other accounts of Jesus raising the dead? Do you think God has ever moved you in a similar way?

4. Read Romans 12:2. What does it mean to have your mind renewed?

5. Has God changed your mind over something since you've been a Christian? Explain.

6. [Be sensitive!] Would you like prayer for God to release you in expressing your emotions?

7. [Be sensitive!] Do you feel that you are hindered in some way from doing God's will by your own emotions - perhaps fear, anger, sadness?

Posted: 28 Mar 2010