When we encounter difficult experiences in life, tears fall. They are not planned; they just happen. The pressure on the inside of us is relieved. It is why God created us with tear glands. King David of Israel knew this. It is why he, during a time of great difficulty, cried out to God, “I am worn out from groaning; all night long I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears” (Psalm 6:6).
People from around the world, though they speak many languages, need no one to interpret for them the language of tears. In some mysterious way our inner emotional makeup knows when to admit our many limitations . . . and tears fall. Eyes that flashed and sparkled only moments before are flooded from a secret reservoir. They can run down our cheeks while we are standing with a friend during a difficult moment, or while we are singing a majestic hymn, or when we are totally alone, or when we are lost in some vivid and precious memory from a past experience, and on countless other occasions.
Were you aware that God takes special notice of your tears? In Psalm 56:8 David in prayer cried out to God, “”Record my lament; list my tears on your scroll – are they not in your record?” What this means is that every teardrop on earth summons the King of Heaven. He is aware of the inner friction that causes tears to flow. He has the power to turn every situation that produces our tears into a moment of tenderness.
One of the drawbacks of our modern, cold, sophisticated world is our reluctance to show tears in front of others for fear they will think we are weak. Parents have often said to their small children, “Don’t cry. Be strong!” For some reason we think that to cry is to show weakness. Many adults think it is immature to cry. How utterly absurd! How lacking in the understanding of human nature!
The prophet Jeremiah, often called by scholars “the weeping prophet,” knew that tears often demonstrate genuine strength, not weakness. He loved the people to whom he preached so much that he could not preach a sermon without having tears fall. He said, “Oh, that my head were a spring of water and my eyes a fountain of tears! I would weep day and night for the slain of my people” (Jeremiah 9:1).
If you are a Christian, how long has it been since you have been so concerned about the spiritual welfare of a particular individual who did not know Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord that you actually shed tears in his or her behalf? While serving as a pastor in Wilmington I tried for four years to win a man to Christ, but I was not successful. I failed largely because of the influence of the man for whom he worked. The man held leadership positions in his church, but his private life was filled with hypocrisy.
In 1981 before leaving the Port City to become pastor of the Sanford First Baptist Church I visited my friend one last time. I said, “Johnny, the only regret I have as I leave for Sanford is that I was not able to convince you to accept Jesus Christ as Savior.” Suddenly my eyes filled with tears. Three or four months after moving to Sanford I learned that he had become a Christian. No one had ever shed tears in his behalf before.
John, in his vision while on the isle of Patmos, envisioned a future time when the saved are gathered by God into the New Jerusalem. On that day there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain . . . for the old order of things will have passed away (Revelation 21:1-4). Tears on that day will be replaced by joy.
The Paper Pulpit 
Leave a Reply