What makes you cry?

Who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear -- Hebrews 5:7

Jesus wept; in fact this verse tells us He had vehement cries and tears. Three questions that are telling is what makes you laugh, what do you sing about, and what makes you cry? What we laugh about can say much about our spirit. What we sing about speaks much about our hearts. What we cry about says much our souls. 

As a child I was told over and over by my father that men do not cry. Yet, Jesus did and He is the ultimate example of true masculinity not distorted by sin or Satan. I have learned that there are things that can bring a real man or woman of God to tears. Jesus wept at the tomb of a friend. He wept when He looked down upon Jerusalem and knew what was coming in 70 AD. He also wept as He poured His heart out to His Heavenly Father. God was pleased and heard His prayers. 

From a physical perspective tears are essential. Without tears our eyes could not function correctly. The world is full of dust and dirt and we need the constant cleansing of tears. Without tears the world would be a very distorted and dark place. In the spiritual realm tears are also vital. They can have a cleansing effect upon the soul as they do with the eyes. Through the tears of joy, suffering, anguish, and prayers the world can be made clear. 

It has been my experience that, if a person is always laughing and shows no sense of seriousness or genuine tears it can betray the truth of shallowness or worse yet emptiness within the soul. That may sound harsh, but the reality of life is there is injustice, evil, pain, suffering, death, disillusionment, and confusion. When we get to the point where we realize it is beyond our ability to hold in the pain and we cry out to God in tears the healing can begin. 

Let me be clear here, I am not speaking of self-serving pity here. I am not speaking of tears for the audience of men. Rather, I speak of tears that are for the Lord. These are tears that betray the awful truth of brokenness within us all if we are honest. 

For years I could not cry. I think it had been so ingrained in me to be strong that tears would not come. It took real pain to open up the floodgates of my soul. It took betrayal by those who said they were my shepherds and friends. It took seeing my wife hurting, but when it came I could nearly not turn it off. It was cleansing and helped my prayer life immensely. Healing took place and I stronger because of it. 

While I do not cry often now, I do have pain within that I only share with the Lord. There are parts of me that only the Lord has the right to see and experience. I trust that through my tears He hears my heart and soul. I weep for the injustice I see around me. I weep when I see the spiritual battle going on around me that many don't seem to notice at all. I weep for the lack of maturity I witness by those that should know better. I weep for friends that are hurting and for friends that move away (either to a new place or to heaven). I find that when I am at my lowest emotionally somehow my prayer life is at its best. That is not necessarily a good thing, but it is a reality I experience and I don't think I am alone. 

As I read the Word of God I see many strong men of God that wept for various reasons (Jeremiah, Isaiah, Moses, Elijah, John, Peter, Jesus, and many more). One of my prayers is that those that are hurting emotionally and spiritually will find a safe place to be broken among God's people. In times of injustice, suffering, disaster, and even depression the loving arms of Jesus is needed more than anything else. We as the body of Christ are called to show the world who we are by our love for one another. 

I so look forward to the time when there is no need for tears. The promise of God is when He comes back and sets all things to right He will wipe away every tear (Rev. 21:4). The story is told that during WWI there was a great battle in which many soldiers from both Germany and France died. With the battlefield littered with the ravages of war, a French soldier gave a German soldier a drink of water. Both were dying and both were believers in the one true God. The German soldier told the Frenchman, "There will be no more wars over there." Then they both lied dying on that battlefield having experienced one last gesture of kindness and hope. We can say with certainty, there will be no tears there either. Until that time comes let us be messengers of hope and kindness in a world of hate and despair. 

April 17, 2013            Judg 9–10, Luke 12:13–34, Ps 48:6–14, Prov 10:9–11