He Cries Too!

Jesus wept when Jerusalem 
loomed before him, 
ignorant in spite of all 
that he had taught her, 
calling her into his Kingdom. 
But she refused to understand, 
entrenched in her self-rule. 
 
I cry too, with all mothers 
longing to shelter little ones 
from storms they’re bringing on. 
Just like Jesus, I picture 
that  mother hen running 
to rescue her chicks from danger, 
hiding them under her wings. 

Grief hits hard, slam-bang. 
Jesus wept at the toll of grief too. 
Tears fell when his friend died 
and family grieved, no hope. 
He brought life to that corpse 
and offers eternal life to us all. 
But death still reigns below. 

I cry to see his love trampled on,
dismissed as irrelevant.
He gave his life to save us,
but that is being rewritten
as child sacrifice forced
on him by God, his Father.
No! It was done for love.

Arms wide open, longing
to hide us in a safe place,
God waits. He will not force
us to come, he just invites.
Cruel as we are, bickering,
warring, rejecting the call,
he loves us. And he cries too.

I’ll bet you’ve had those moments too, when news comes that tears your heart apart, and tears come. It is not what you expected. Maybe it is just one more piece in a hideous puzzle that you wish could be thrown away. Maybe someone you love is choosing what will only bring pain. As a result, you cry tears of pain like the psalmist:

My eyes pour out streams of tears because people do not follow Your instruction. (Ps. 119:136 CSB)

Even Yahweh, the God of the Universe, mourns the wandering of his people with “tears” because they are suffering the consequences of rejecting his laws:

¹⁷ “Tell these people this, Jeremiah: ‘My eyes overflow with tears day and night without ceasing. For my people, my dear children, have suffered a crushing blow. They have suffered a serious wound. ¹⁸ If I go out into the countryside, I see those who have been killed in battle. If I go into the city, I see those who are sick because of starvation. For both prophet and priest go about their own business in the land without having any real understanding.'” (Jer. 14:17-18 NET)

Instead of walking with the One who had saved them out of slavery and provided for their needs, they are choosing to “go about their own business.” They reject what matters for their choice of goals, not God’s. And he is full of grief for his “dear children.”

Maybe you’ve been there, watching a friend, a dear relative, or one of your kids, wandering off. Or resisting the Good News from the get-go. Jesus wept over Jerusalem because they were doing that:

“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. (Lk. 13:34 NIV)

And the loss of a loved one to death is tough, even if they have been suffering. Or maybe you are on your own path to that ending sometime soon. When Jesus was approaching his friend Lazarus’ grave, even though he knew he was going to bring him back to life he was crying. Why?

³³ When Jesus saw her weeping, and the people who had come with her weeping, he was intensely moved in spirit and greatly distressed. ³⁴ He asked, “Where have you laid him?” They replied, “Lord, come and see.” ³⁵ Jesus wept. ³⁶ Thus the people who had come to mourn said, “Look how much he loved him!”  (Jn. 11:33-36 NET)

Death is what Jesus came to conquer, and he understands the torture it brings, especially when you love that person. I am struck, too, by his very human prayers about his own upcoming suffering, those tears in Gethsemane for instance and probably others:

During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. ⁸ Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered ⁹ and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him (Heb. 5:7 NIV)

He did it for us—we are rescued forever if we obey him, trusting in his self-sacrifice for our forgiveness and eternal rescue. He was indeed a “man of sorrows, acquainted with grief.” He was insulted, rejected, tortured, murdered. Why? Because he knew it was the right thing to do, the plan that would offer life that lasts forever to those who would join him, walking his Road.

I wrote the poem “He Cries Too” when I was feeling overwhelmed with grief over the ongoing rejection of Jesus’ offer by someone I have prayed for for years. Writing it brought these truths to mind and comforted me: Jesus cares. Deeply! The Father cares. He understands our response of tears to these kinds of situations—our tears align with his own. And there is this promise that brings hope:

 ⁵ Those who shed tears as they plant will shout for joy when they reap the harvest. ⁶ The one who weeps as he walks along, carrying his bag of seed, will certainly come in with a shout of joy, carrying his sheaves of grain. (Ps. 126:1 NET)

So let’s not give up! When we are hard-hit by sad news, let us keep on walking along, carrying our bag of seed, sowing where and as the Lord directs!  Joy will come with harvest, when it is his timing. What we need to do is follow his instructions with understanding. That brings him joy, and someday we will shout for joy! He loves his dear children, that is for sure.