By: Jonathan Moseley
I can recall the first time I ever saw my dad cry. It was a Christmas morning and playing in the background was a record of the timeless band, Alabama. These were the songs he grew up on, and while life had given him many blessings since then, mixed in with the joy of family being together was an overwhelming sadness from missing someone so important to him: his grandmother. As he started to talk about her loveliness and gentleness and humor, he couldn’t hold in the tears. And neither could I.
Tears as Windows and Testimonies
Seeing someone’s tears is a precious gift. How do you really know what’s going on inside of a person? Yet, tears help us see what is beyond the surface. They serve as windows into an eternal soul. If you’ve seen tears, then you’ve gazed upon something holy and sacred. We inch towards the very essence of a person when we see their tears—for in those moments we are closest to their deepest pains and their deepest joys.
Our own tears point to a reality beyond what we can see. Tears of sorrow tend to come from a glory lost. Our hearts taste firsthand the profound effects of brokenness caused by our separation from God. While on the other hand, tears of joy tend to come from a glory loved. Our hearts taste the nature of God in his gifts, namely, his goodness. Whether we are able to recognize it or not, tears are testimonies to the absence or presence of God himself.
Knowing Jesus By His Tears
Jesus was no stranger to tears. He weeps when his friend Lazarus dies. As he finally approaches his friend’s tomb, he greets sadness from Mary and the Jews who have been mourning for four days. It's here we find the shortest and perhaps one of the most meaningful verses in the entire Bible: “Jesus wept.” (John 11:35). He had just called himself the resurrection and the life, and surely, Jesus knew he would raise Lazarus from the dead. So, why does Jesus weep? He weeps because he has compassion on the hurting; he weeps because he knows the severity of sin's effects; possibly, he weeps because Jesus understands that for God to answer his request to raise Lazarus from the dead, it would ultimately mean he would have to embrace the only path by which Lazarus could overcome death decisively and eternally: the cross. We know Jesus by his tears in this moment: he is a Savior who travels down into the darkest caves of human grief and identifies with the world’s miseries.
But that’s not the only reason why our Savior cries. Jesus also laments over those who reject him:
As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes” (Luke 19:41-42).
Why does Jesus weep here? Sadly, the Israelites did not embrace their King. God sent his Son to bring peace, to establish an everlasting kingdom, and to extend mercy and grace to sinners. But in their ignorance and stubbornness, the people chose to crucify him instead of crown him. Jesus mourns over their fate. The truth is hidden from their eyes.
Jesus’ tears show his feelings for the lost. You don’t cry over something trivial. You cry over what you care about. Those that have your tears have your heart. And by our Savior's tears that shed over the lost, we see but a glimpse into the riches and depths of God’s love.
Like Jesus, Paul Cries
Notice Paul's wish in these verses:
“I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh. (Romans 9:2)
Paul is not afraid to wear his emotions on his sleeves. His love ran so deep for those without Jesus that he would be willing to give up this gift of grace if only his kinsmen would take it. The Gospel had so radically shaped Paul’s heart that it began to look like the very heart of Jesus. Like Jesus, he was willing to suffer for the sake of sinners. When Paul grasped the grace of God found in the Gospel, his entire agenda and plan for his life changed. Like Jesus, Paul understood his life’s mission now was to reconcile sinners back to God. Like Jesus, he was a man of great sorrows.
Lord, Teach Me To Weep
I am often very different than Paul. I would rather ignore the lost than cry over them. It’s emotionally taxing. It's too much. I don’t want to hurt. I don’t to walk around with bloodshot eyes. Plus, who wants to appear vulnerable and soft? Not to mention, the weight of someone’s eternal destiny is unbearable. Why try to carry it? It’s much easier to move my attention to something more frivolous, something a little more comfortable and enjoyable like a television show. Honestly, my heart is often immovable towards the lost because it's so determined to stick to its own schedule and purposes. I lack compassion for others because I’m too caught up in myself.
I’m not moved by their lostness. I’m moved by my selfishness.
But I don’t want to stay this way. I want my dreams and my desires for comfort over sacrifice to die. I want pride and Jonathan’s kingdom building to die. All of these keep me from truly reaching those who have no hope in the Gospel. I confess I fall short, and I ask that God might give me the grace of tears. It might be hard for you to have your emotions moved. Compassion may not be your strength. But God calls us to it and I'm confident that he can work this miracle in your heart. My prayer is “Lord, teach me to weep.” Until the lost have my tears, I know they really don’t have my heart. But as I seek to become more like Jesus, one way I want to follow him is in his tears. I want my tears to reflect the soul of my Savior. And maybe, it's my tears that God might use for the lost to see his love.