“Jesus wept.” John 11:35
This is the shortest verse in the Bible, yet so profound. “Jesus wept.” We so often think of Jesus as just God, someone we can’t really relate to or who can’t relate to us. And we often forget that while He was every bit of God in the flesh, He was also a man. Just like you and me. He faced every emotion, every temptation, every evil, every triumph that we face as humans. (The difference is that He never sinned.) And yes, Jesus wept. Just like you and me. He shed tears over the death of His dear friend Lazarus. He probably not only wept because He had lost a dear friend on this earth, but for the sadness and mourning of Lazarus’ family and friends. I challenge you to go back and read chapter 11 of John for yourself and see how Jesus truly experienced human emotion.
Last Monday, 4 boys from Boerne we killed in a car accident. One of these boys was on my husband’s football team. The morning after the accident, I was attending a field trip with my 5 year old son to Sea World. I knew that many would be asking me about the accident so I decided to sit down with him that morning to tell him what had happened. When I told him of the accident and that Marcus (whom he knew from the team) had died, his very first response was, “Mom, did all those boys know Jesus?” My eyes filled with tears as I realized that my 5 year old son really grasped what that meant. I had to answer with, “I don’t know. I hope so.”
If someone asked you today about your own salvation or that of someone you know, love, or are in daily contact with, what would be your response? Do you know? Today we wept and mourned for and with the family of 3 boys who died very young. My prayer is that God uses this for His glory and will bring so many to Himself that may have never heard the story of the Cross. I pray that there is a new urgency to life, to telling everyone we know about Jesus’ love for them and His desire to be in relationship with them. Life is short. You may never have another chance. You never know when your last encounter with that friend, coworker, loved one may be! Jesus weeps for a relationship with each one of us. He wants to be our closest friend, big brother, almighty Savior. Will you come to Him and bring all your loved ones with you?
Dear Jesus, we pray fervently for all of the mourning souls in this small town. We pray for a new urgency in life, for a renewed sense of why we are here. We thank you for weeping over us, for desiring to know each one of us. Thank you for conquering the grave so that we may have eternal life with You. We pray for boldness and courage to tell everyone we know about what You have done for us. We pray that you will be near to those who mourn and that they would lean hard into You. Amen.
