Jesus, Is That You? Part 2

But you, O Lord, are a God of compassion...

Psalm 86:15

After purchasing the set of five prints of Darrel Tank's pictures of Christ, I opened up the package to view the prints that were underneath the picture of the laughing Christ with the teenagers.  The second sketch caught at my heart as powerfully as the first, but for a different reason.  I have searched the Internet high and low for a copy of that image, but I can not find it anywhere.  It is similar to the drawing above of Jesus writing sins in the sand, but it is also vastly different.

In that second sketch, Jesus is kneeling down in the dusty road, his hand cradling a tiny puppy who is dead.  The focus for me, however, was not on the body of puppy, but on the face of Christ as he grapples with the death of this tiny animal.  There is sorrow, there is pain, and there is... anger.  Yes, anger.  The thought that Jesus could be mad about the death of a tiny, insignificant puppy would be blasphemous to some.  It took me awhile to absorb that image myself.  In the end, however, that drawing was but another step in my journey towards understanding that God has emotions and feelings very similar to you and me.  We are created in His image and likeness, and we are far more like Him than not.  Remember, Jesus said, "Hey, folks - if you've seen Me you've seen my Dad." 

In the mind of the artist, was Jesus mad at the person or persons who caused the death of the puppy?  Is that where His angered was placed?  I wish that I had an image of the drawing so that you could come to a conclusion for yourself.  I think, however, that the anger in Christ's face was for the loss of a precious life, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant.  Perhaps the message of that drawing is that God deeply cares and loves all aspects of His creation - from the sparrow, to the puppy, to this lady living in Virginia, encompassing everyone and everything that lives and moves on this planet.