Brokenhearted joy

. . . I would like to introduce the first of two foundational elements in Jesus' description of the Father: He is both brokenhearted and full of joy. If you understand these two truths about the Father, they will be weapons for you against any false images that have held you back from truly knowing Him. - Neal Lozano, Abba's Heart

Well, let's start at the end and work our way back a little, but only a little, as Mr. Lozano has gone on to develop the first part in much more detail.

There is one inescapable thing that will always hold us back from truly, fully knowing the Father: our minds are finite, and He is infinite. But that doesn't keep us from being in relationship with Him, which is, of course, the knowledge of the Father to which we are all called, which He has made possible through Jesus and the Holy Spirit. I don't think I'm arguing with or correcting Neal here; I'm sure this is what he has in mind when he talks about "truly knowing Him."

Yes, our theology seems to have gotten skewed with regard to our conception of the Father. Because we need Jesus' sacrifice to enter His presence, we tend to think of the Father as the strict disciplinarian, and associate Jesus as the merciful One. But Jesus was the Father's plan for us all along!

I think that being parents gives us an experience of the Father's simultaneous heartbreak for us and joy in us like nothing else I've ever known.