The Word - March 19, 2012 - CONSTRAINED BY GOD'S LOVE

"When Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, 'Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who cane with her weeping, He groaned in His Spirit and was troubled. And He said to her, where have you laid him? They said to Him, Lord, come and see. And Jesus wept" (John 11:32-35).

It is recorded that Jesus groaned in the spirit and was troubled. Though He was about to perform the great miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead, still He wept. Again in Luke 19:41 Jesus wept over the city of Jerusalem. Jeremiah in his book (9:1), wept over the people in his day.

Paul wept day and night for the duration of three years (Acts 20:19). Isaiah wept bitterly for God's people in the day of trouble.

Why do you suppose the Scriptures contain so many verses on the subject of weeping? I believe the answer to be that God notices the tears that are motivated by His love for the sake of truth and puts them in a bottle.

Have you ever wondered how Christians can learn about such sacred topics as the Spirit reveals them, and yet weep so little? Jesus was moved with compassion on more than one occasion.

In order to produce the desired results, God's Word must be pondered over, identified with, and experienced in the cradle of His unconditional love. We must be constrained by the love of God as we learn to think and feel with God. We need to learn to weep with those who weep. We need to cry out to the Lord for those who suffer, and for those who are in need.