Parents, Children, and WWJD

Throughout the book of Lamentations, there are two main figures the reader is exposed to. God, who is an authoritative figure and has just whiped out the city of Jersalem, and the author, a figure in submission. This has been classified as a 'parent-child' relationship, and for several reasons. God is acredited with omnipotence and omnicience; he is believed to understand why the city was destroyed (because he did it), and is the one called upon to ensure that it does not happen again. The author is appealing to God for understanding, protection, and security- much like a child would appeal to a parent in a similar situation. The author is also expressing hurt, anger, and frusteration, much like a child would to a parent who has allowed harm to befall their offspring. This relationship is logical and befitting of the circumstances.
This parent-child relationship as used to help explain the author's interpretation of events is similar to the method many people use to explain their own interpretations of events today: What Would Jesus Do? This classic expression is the modern version of the parent-child relationship as expressed in the Old Testament. While Christians today still view God as Father, another ingredient thrown into the mix is Jesus Christ as Lord, Savior, and Son of God. Jeremiah, the supposed author of Lamentations, was before Jesus' time. However, WWJD is sybolic of how Jesus altered Christianity, and took the roots of Judaism in a different direction. When Jesus died on the cross, he took on the sins of every person in the entire world and promised every person new life- if they believe he is the Son of God and died so that we may be with God in heaven. Through this act, Jesus advocates for each person and offers this gift of freedom to each person. This alters the relationship between God and man, because through Jesus, salvation is based on love and faith and not works. Jeremiah was appealing to God to remove his anger, and while believers do the same thing today, it is with the confidence of knowing that nothing that happens in this world can separate a person from the love of Jesus. This is a security that Jeremiah did not have, and this is the difference between the parent-child relationship and WWJD