Tears – Matthew 23:37-39
Where do our tears come from? From what the scriptures tell us, it appears it is just us and God who weep. We can cry because we were created in his image. This is, in part, what distinguishes us from beasts. I am curious if evolutionary research has discovered that before Cro-Magnon there was Cry-Magnon man? (Sorry, I couldn’t resist.) Back to business.
We are all familiar with what causes our tears. Some of them come as we are surprised by something pure and beautiful or we are moved by an act of love or kindness. Some tears are joyful but I suspect that God, who collects them, would confirm there is still a radically lopsided proportion of sorrowful tears to joyful ones. We know why we cry, but what brings tears to God’s eyes? I believe his role as a parent is the sources of his sorrow.
Oh Jerusalem. Jerusalem
Jesus laments over a people created for relationship who instead spurned every overture of his love. The consuming fires of holiness and righteousness surely reside in God’s nature yet there is also a heart that is bound up, in love, with a people hell-bent on rejecting him.
This passage reveals there are ultimate consequences to rejecting the love of God …
Behold, your house is being left desolate!
The temple was razed within 40 years of this statement. Jesus then bid his people a farewell until another day when their hearts would return to him saying …
Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord!
The absence of God coincided with the sudden decimation of Jerusalem. I have wondered if the gradual erosion of America does not also coincide with God’s absence. Since we are systematically evicting him out of one arena of life after another, perhaps our nation is experiencing judgement as well. Unlike the visible plagues on Egypt, God’s agents of justice may be ten-fold and internal to our culture. Like Israel, God loves us but a parent must discipline his children. Being holy and a parent surely has brought a flood of God’s tears. I wonder if he laughs or cries at Fox vs CNN.
Father, may your discipline be recognized for what it is, wherever it is. May our hearts learn wisdom from it. May we grasp that your heart is to gather and to protect those you love. May we grieve over the things that grieve you. May our sorrow evolve into petitions. May we be the generation who recognizes and listens to your prophets. May we be a generation who recognizes your overtures of love, even those embedded in discipline. May we come to our knees voluntarily. We pray that not one of your tears be wept in vain. Let it be Lord. Let it be.