I was watching a story about the woman who washed the feet of Jesus, with her tears. That’s a lot of tears. But, most of us know about that kind of weeping. How many were the times when we wept before Him, until the handkerchief was wringing wet?

I know that we all loved the leaping, the shouting; the dancing before the Lord. That is also a great part of our heritage. But was it possible, that the times of deep prayer, pouring our hearts out to Him, was much deeper.

It was so very special, to kneel at His feet, as this woman did, and tell Him all about our shortcomings; confessing our human weaknesses, and then feeling the deep cleansing of His forgiveness. But, there is another part to this; just weeping in His presence; feeling the deep awesome presence of God. You see, the Holy Ghost, cannot settle on a child of God, without it having a visual affect; we have to respond in some way . I confess, I do not totally understand just why we weep, when we are in His presence. It may be, that it is part of the way He created us. But it washes, like nothing else.

In another way, it is not so terribly hard to understand. Don’t we often cry, when we come in contact with those we love, because we are so glad to see them. I know today, that God wanted such a relationship with all of us. At this time of the year, I am even more moved, by how much Jesus Christ wept over His people. Overlooking the Holy City, is a small chapel with a little altar. Pictured on the front, is a mother hen, gathering her little chicks, under her wing. Jesus wept over us; He wept over those that were lost, and even all His friends. It’s a part of who we are too; crying out for others.

Real gratitude, will often bring tears. As the old song once said, “Tears are a language, God understands.” When the children of God felt a great loss or were truly repentant of their transgressions and their straying from Him, they wept sorely. I recall a time in His Word, in a very evil city, that it was prophesied that within a short time, the entire place would be overthrown. The whole city put on sackcloth and ashes, fasted, and cried to God for mercy. Even the animals were put on a fast. And, God changed His mind.

I don’t know how to say this. In many places, we need to turn off the music, cut off all the monitors and lighted decorations, unplug the microphones, and every single person, get on our faces before Him. Because it is simply beyond doubt, that weeping before the Lord and crying out to Him, brought about not only a greater love for Jesus Christ, but also a great love for one another.

Yes, I weep before Him when I am sad, or feeling hurt, and then of course, when I fail. But lately, in the way we once did, I weep because of all He has done for me. It is my heart and soul, communicating with His.

~ Robert Blackburn

Robert Blackburn