August 28, 2004
A Time To Cry
Read: John 11:1-7,32-36
Jesus wept. —John 11:35
Bible In One Year: Psalms 123-125; 1 Corinthians 10:1-18
My father (Richard De Haan) had been battling a debilitating disease for many years. We asked the Lord to take him home. But as I knelt by his bed and watched him take that last breath, the tears I had choked back on other occasions came out like a flood. As my brothers and my mother hugged and prayed, the finality was overwhelming.
That event helped me understand the significance of the shortest verse in the Bible: "Jesus wept" (John 11:35). God the Son wept! He knew the reality of heaven. He was the source of all hope of a future day of resurrection. And yet, Jesus cried. He loved His friends Mary and Martha and Lazarus so much that "He groaned in the spirit and was troubled" (v.33). Jesus truly felt their heartache.
When someone we love dies, we struggle with a wide range of emotions. If a young person dies, we ask "Why?" When death comes after long-term suffering, we struggle to understand why the Lord waited so long to bring relief. We begin to think of God as distant, untouched by our sorrow. We may question His wisdom or His goodness. Then we read, "Jesus wept." God is deeply touched by our anguish.
When a painful situation invades your life, remember the Bible's shortest verse. Jesus shed tears too. —Kurt De Haan
managing editor of Our Daily Bread for 13 years,
was reunited with his father when God called him Home.
(March 29, 1953-August 28, 2003)
If you doubt that Jesus cares, remember His tears.