Curious Christian

You know, something that has long struck me about God, especially as revealed through Jesus, is just how deeply emotional he is. We don’t always talk about that. Sometimes we picture God as distant or stoic, always composed, kind of hovering above it all. But when you really sit with Scripture, when you slow down enough to notice, you see a God who feels. Profoundly.

Jesus wept. That verse alone, just two words, carries a world of meaning. He didn’t just feel compassion from a distance. He cried at the tomb of his friend. He groaned in his spirit when people didn’t understand. He got angry at injustice, flipped over tables when sacred spaces were being used for financial exploitation. He felt joy too. He delighted in children, in acts of faith, in quiet moments with his friends. And then in the garden, anguish. Real anguish. His sweat falling like drops of blood. He asked for the cup to pass. He didn’t just march toward the cross like a machine. He struggled. That matters.

And if we believe Jesus shows us the face of God, then that tells us something about the heart of God. God isn’t unmoved. God is not numb to our lives. He’s not waiting for us to get our act together before he cares. He’s already in it with us—hurting with us, celebrating with us, longing for us.

So what does that mean for discipleship? For following this emotional, relational, present God?

It means discipleship isn’t just about knowing the right doctrines or doing the right things. It’s about being formed by the heart of God. It’s about learning to feel with God. To let compassion interrupt us. To sit in grief without rushing past it. To get righteously angry when we see injustice, but also to act out of love, not bitterness. It means letting our hearts break for the things that break God’s. And maybe even letting our joy expand when we see redemption unfolding in small, quiet ways.

It’s vulnerable, honestly. To live like that. To feel deeply. But maybe that’s part of the point. Discipleship isn’t about being untouchable. It’s about being human like Jesus was human, wide open to love, and therefore wide open to pain. But also, ultimately, wide open to resurrection, to life without limits.