It’s Time to Weep

We’ve all wept bitter tears. The loss of a loved one. Disappointment. Remorse. Pain—physical and emotional. Disbelief at tragedy.

Yet, when is the last time you wept because God’s judgment was coming upon the loss. Jeremiah—the “Weeping Prophet”—proclaimed the word of the Lord after the Assyrians had carried off the Israelites and as the Babylonians were starting their captivity of the Southern Kingdom (Jeremiah’s own children were taken from him—Jer 10:20). As the faithful prophet saw the unfaithful people and the judgment God was meting out upon Abraham’s descendants, Jeremiah wept and wept and wept. For example, the prophet wrote, “Oh that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!” (Jer 9:1).

Some say it’s quite unfair to call Jeremiah the “Weeping Prophet,” for that description makes him look weak and unfairly ignores his mission to call God’s people to repentance. Yet, I believe Jeremiah’s weeping was central to who he was; he was a man so full of emotion that he was moved to tears when he saw the people’s sin and God’s coming judgment. Because of his tears, Jeremiah dedicated himself to the divine proclamation that genuine repentance could avert divine wrath. You see, because Jeremiah cared so deeply he worked all the harder to call people back to the Lord before they faced the full extent of YHWH’s fury.

What a powerful example for us! People all around us are dying and going to a devil’s hell for eternity. When is the last time we were so full of emotion that we wept at their eternal destiny? When is the last time that we were so full of emotion that we ran to our friends and neighbors to tell them of a Lord who would freely cover every sin if they would only come to him? When is the last time our love for the Lord and love for others prompted us to urge the dying to flee from sin into the arms of the crucified and risen Savior?

If we truly wept over the lost, we wouldn’t need to mention evangelism—we’d be too busy wearing ourselves out doing it to talk about it. If we truly wept over the lost, we wouldn’t be looking for some new church growth idea—the church would be growing just like the church in Jerusalem many years ago. If we truly wept over the lost, we couldn’t find a place for everyone to sit on Sunday mornings—people would be pouring into the assembly, for they would be moved to come to Jesus.

Isn’t it time for you to weep?

This article was originally written by Dr. Justin Imel, Sr., for the weekly newsletter at Church of Christ Deer Park in Deer Park, Texas.