If we weep and mourn now, our unsaved loved ones might not have to weep and gnash their teeth in the future.
The Bible tells us there is a time for everything
under the sun, “A time to weep and a time to laugh” (Ecclesiastes 3:4 NIV84).
Nobody weeps just for the fun of it; there is always a reason. Weeping is the
physical expression of grief. However, the absence of grief or the inability to
express grief is not necessarily an indication that all is well. When the
situation calls for grief, someone who does not grieve may either be ignorant
of the facts or numb to the truth. Why do we grieve anyway? We grieve when
we’ve suffered some kind of a loss, including times when things aren’t going as
they should or as we expect. Jesus wept at Lazarus’ tomb, because Jesus was
deeply concerned about Mary’s loss (See John 11:33-35).
I wonder why the bride of Christ has not been
weeping lately! Is it because we see no reason to cry? Is all well in the
Church and in the world? When was the last time you wept for the Church or shed
tears over the condition of the world, or even over your city alone? I must not be looking in the right places,
because it has been a long time since I saw real passion in prayer—where people
are really heartbroken and burdened over sin and evil, the deterioration of
morals! As someone asked, “Where did the passion go?”
On Ezra’s return to Jerusalem from Babylon, he
grieved over the state of Jerusalem. The people, including the priests, were
intermarrying with their pagan neighbors. Ezra was grieved. He wept, and prayed
(See Ezra 9:1-10:1). While in Babylon, Nehemiah heard that the walls of
Jerusalem were broken down and its gates burnt with fire. He wept, mourned,
fasted, and prayed (See Nehemiah 1:1-4). Likewise, Jeremiah, the Weeping
Prophet, mourned and wept and prayed over the sins of his people and God’s
punishment that resulted. When the Israelites were in captivity in Babylon, the
thought of home made them cry over their plight:
By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down,
yea, we wept.
When we remembered Zion
Psalm
137:1 NKJV
Daniel fasted, prayed, and
petitioned God on behalf of his people Israel after he learned from the
Scriptures what was going to happen to them (See Daniel 9:2-3).
Where are our tears? Have weeping and mourning
become old-fashioned? Are they not needed, because all is well with the Church,
our country, and the world? Is passionate prayer a thing of the past?
Allow me to jog our memory. Over the past decade, many
things that made us frown, because we knew they were wrong, have been declared
to be okay, and what used to be considered good is now considered evil. The
Scripture says, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil” (Isaiah 5:20
NIV84). Aren’t we in trouble? Sure we are! When was the last time you wept over
the state of your city, your state, or your country? When was the last time you
saw another Christian do that? Weeping, for some reason has become strange,
shameful, old- fashioned, and unacceptable. A few years ago at a prayer
meeting, someone asked me if I was sniffling because I had a cold. How sad!
Folks, we have a lot to cry about! We need to cry
over the condition of the world. There is increase in evil and general
lawlessness, and there are all kinds of sin inside the Church. So why aren’t we
crying? Maybe we are not crying, because we think nothing is wrong. Or is it
that we don’t care? On the other hand, perhaps we are thinking that, because we
are saved, we have no need to worry. Let’s remember that we have unsaved loved
ones. Let’s not forget that our God is very concerned about all the evil around
us. What else needs to happen before we care, before we mourn, or before we
grieve? Nothing! What needs to drive us to tears is already happening.
Weeping and mourning are not as old-fashioned as
we think or imply by our attitude. We need to weep in prayer, if we’d like to
see God move and save souls. That is what must happen if we want a reduction in
the evil that is plaguing our society! If we weep and mourn now, our unsaved
loved ones might not have to weep and gnash their teeth in the future.
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