He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young. Isaiah 40:11

I spent the last few days with my daughter and her two children. They’re son is only four months old and is generally a really good natured, smiling baby. But there are moments when something is not right with his world and he expresses his discomfort with a stiffening body and lung developing cries. While they were with us, there were several occasions where the only way to calm him down and ease this discomfort was by holding him and walking him around the house. I did some of the holding, walking and carrying with my grandson and found that at times I found the rhythm and movement to help ease his pain. I was so proud of my accomplishment! But I also found that there was no set pattern I could rely on to accomplish the same sense of relief. In fact, my pride in accomplishment dissipated quickly as the tried and true method I had just used was unsuccessful. It just seemed that sometimes there was no solution or consolation I could provide.

This is difficult for me because I like to provide a solution when presented with a difficult situation. I like to think I have good advice, ideas, and solutions to the problems of life. I think the reason is I don’t want to have to continue offering compassion for too long. My servants heart seems to have its limits, and if I can provide an answer quickly I will avoid too much of an expenditure of my precious time and energy. The reality is that I seldom seem to have what is exactly needed and compassion and love always seem to involve a significantly longer personal investment. In my selfishness, I want to offer my solution and move on to something more comfortable and self-satisfying.

But in this season of Lent I am slowly immersing myself in the self-sacrificing love of Jesus. His primary response to the brokenness and pain of the world seems to be to keep sacrificially loving those He encounters on His journey to Good Friday and Easter. He suffers with humanity, but also for humanity with a willingness that amazes me. He comes alongside me, compassionately touching my wounds and holding me close in the midst of my tears and pain. He offers to me not a quick answer and solution, but His loving presence throughout the dark and disquieting circumstances of life. He holds me and carries me in His arms, walking me gently with love and compassion, like a parent holding an inconsolable child.

I realized last night, as I lay down to sleep, that holding my grandson with love and compassion in his moments of pain was all I had to offer. It didn’t solve his suffering or make him better. All I could do was attempt to be sacrificially present to him, in the same way that Jesus is sacrificially present to me. Lent reminds me to join Jesus as He walks this path of love and sacrifice, at the expense of His own comfort. He has chosen this path for the sake of the world and has poured out completely the cup of His life so that I might drink fully the new life He offers to me. It is a life filled daily with grace and love from Jesus, who has prepared a place for me in His presence for eternity. In His sacrifice the salvation and healing I need, and long for, has been accomplished.

While I thrash around in my discomfort, much like an infant who can’t communicate what’s wrong, Jesus holds me close, carrying me with love and compassion until I receive all the healing care He came to provide. It seems like a long process, but in the midst, He is constantly giving Himself for me, embracing me in my pain and comforting me with His loving presence.

This is one of the lessons of this season of Lent I am trying to learn. It is the willingness to be present with someone over time without seeing an immediate solution. It is the practice of being present with sacrificial love and compassion for as long as needed. The only possible way that this kind of sacrificial life we see in Jesus can find expression in me is when I am filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. I must surrender my advice and solutions to Him and humbly receive His merciful assistance to be transformed into something far more helpful and life-giving than I presently am. I am presently in this teaching moment with Jesus.

As you continue in this season of Lent, may you find hope in Jesus, who sacrificially carries you “close to His heart” in the midst of suffering and pain, and who understands completely all you are going through. And then may you offer to others on behalf of Jesus this same compassionate and sacrificial presence in their moments of suffering and pain. In His full embrace may you learn to embrace others more fully. May this song further encourage you to draw near to Jesus in the midst of desolation. He, in His great love and compassion, is holding you close to His heart.