Grandmother Research 感同身受

[Dexu Xia]

He will take great delight in you.  Zephaniah 3:17

Scientists used MRI scans to study the brains of grandmothers. They measured empathetic responses to images that included their own grandchild, their own adult child, and one anonymous child. The study showed that grandmothers have a higher empathy toward their own grandchild than even their own adult child. This is attributed to what they call the “cute factor”—their own grandchild being more “adorable” than the adult child.

Before we say, “Well, duh!” we might consider the words of James Rilling, who conducted the study: “If their grandchild is smiling, [the grandmother is] feeling the child’s joy. And if their grandchild is crying, they’re feeling the child’s pain and distress.”

One prophet paints an “MRI image” of God’s feelings as He looks upon His people: “He will take great delight in you; in his love he will . . . rejoice over you with singing” (Zephaniah 3:17). Some translate this to say, “You will make His heart full of joy, and He will sing loudly.” Like an empathetic grandmother, God feels our pain: “In all their distress he too was distressed” (Isaiah 63:9), and He feels our joy: “The Lord takes delight in his people” (Psalm 149:4).

When we feel discouraged, it’s good to remember that God has real feelings for us. He’s not a cold, far away God, but One who loves and delights in us. It’s time to draw close to Him, feel His smile—and listen to His singing.

By:  Kenneth Petersen

How have you felt the pleasure of God? How does this make you feel?

Dear God, help me to feel Your smile upon me.

感同身受

祂在你中间必因你欢欣喜乐。—西番雅书3章17节

美国埃默里大学的研究人员，使用磁振造影（MRI扫描）来研究祖母们的大脑。研究人员让参与实验的祖母观看自己孙子女、成年儿女，以及一个陌生孩子的照片，检测这些祖母的同理心反应。研究显示，祖母们对孙子女的情绪感同身受的程度，更高于成年儿女。研究人员将之归因于所谓的“可爱因素”──祖母们自己的孙子比成年儿女更“可爱”。

在我们说“啊不然咧？”之前，我们可以想一想进行这项研究的詹姆斯·里林（James Rilling）博士说过的话：“如果照片中的孙子女在笑，祖母就会感受到孩子的快乐；如果孙子女在哭，她们也会感受到孩子的痛苦和忧愁。”

先知西番雅描绘了上帝看着祂子民时的感受，就如上述的研究一般。西番雅书3章17节说：“[上帝]必因你欢欣喜乐，默然爱你，且因你喜乐而欢呼。”也有人将这句话翻译为：“你要叫祂心里充满喜乐，祂要大声歌唱。”就像一位富有同理心的祖母，上帝能感受我们的痛苦：“他们在一切苦难中，祂也同受苦难”（以赛亚书63章9节）；祂也能感受我们的欢乐：“耶和华喜爱祂的百姓。”（诗篇149篇4节）

在感到沮丧时，让我们谨记上帝对我们有真实的情感，与我们感同身受。祂不是冷漠、遥远的上帝，而是爱我们、喜悦我们的上帝。现在就让我们来亲近祂，感受祂的微笑并聆听祂欢唱。

作者：  毕恺腾

你曾如何感受到上帝喜爱你？
这让你感觉如何？

亲爱的上帝，帮助我感受到祢正对我微笑