This God that Suffers in our Head

Have you ever imagined why some people have this tendency of seeing God as always suffering, the world always sinful, and humanity regularly on its way to perdition? Some of them appear outstandingly spiritual, and on their Facebook posts, they periodically try to invite the world to conversion through their well-chosen Bible verses and religious images.

And when they are not quoting Akempis and the likes, they are inviting everyone to pray for the agonizing Jesus, for the afflicted God, for the seven wounds of Jesus, for his pierced side, and so forth. Ordinarily, those are legitimate reasons to pray for, but the problem is that in many cases, most of them share a similar profile. Most of them are gloomy people, and they see the world with their moody glasses.

And no matter how religious they appear, the real question is who is agonizing? Is it Christ who is constantly in agony, or are they simply feeling some form of deep anguish in their heart? Is it the world in constant decline or something deep inside them is feeling like they are no longer following the unreachable standard they keep on creating for themselves? Is it God who is suffering, or are they transferring theirs to God?

Come to think of it, does God suffer, or do we project our human experience on Him? When the Bible speaks about suffering, is it talking about God suffering physically or emotionally, or is it simply a symbolic way of talking about human comprehension of God’s relationship with the creation?

Unfortunately, most of those who show such forms of spirituality are very often disconnected from those around them. They offer little to no tolerance or respect for others. And in some instances, they are spiritually shallow as those characters hide their true identity.