Are you a Crier?

 I have a confession to make:

I am a CRIER!

One of our Bible groups is going to watch Season 4 episodes 1-3 of The Chosen on Wednesday. Nearly all of the episodes of this Biblical drama have brought out some powerful emotions within me. For some reason, watching the stories of the Bible unfold before my eyes, and realizing they are true, brings a very emotional response. So, on Wednesday, watching three episodes will probably bring the same response.

As I was reading Isaiah 15 and 16 today, I thought about why we cry and WHO we cry for. In these passages, Isaiah cries for Moab. He receives a vision from God about what is soon to happen to this nation. He doesn't cry from selfish motives. He cries FOR Moab!

"My heart weeps for Moab. Its people flee to Zoar and Eglath-shelishiyah. Weeping, they climb the road to Luhith. Their cries of distress can be heard all along the road to Horonaim. Even the waters of Nimrim are dried up! The grassy banks are scorched. The tender plants are gone; nothing green remains. The people grab their possessions and carry them across the Ravine of Willows. A cry of distress echoes through the land of Moab from one end to the other -- from Eglaim to Beer-elim." (Isaiah 15:5-8)

The residents of Moab have been defiant and rejected the Lord. Now they are facing the punishment, the consequences of a life lived without God. Their shouts of joy are silenced. Their successful harvests are no more. There is no more singing, no more celebrations. 

Isaiah writes: 

"My heart's cry for Moab is like a lament on a harp. I am filled with anguish for Kir-hareseth. The people worship at their pagan shrines, but it will do them no good. They will cry to the gods in their temples, but no one will be able to save them." (Isaiah 16:11,12)

Who do you mourn for? Besides crying during emotional movies, or crying from my own pain, my heart is moved to tears when I see loved ones living without the Lord. My heart, like Isaiah's, is like a funeral dirge. I know the results of their defiance. I know the ultimate results of their separation from God. The consequences are eternal for sure, but there are also consequences for today. Just like with Moab, there is no REAL JOY in life when we reject the Lord. I see that in the lives of those I am around who live without the Lord. They may have worldly things. They may have parties, and friends, and have fleeting laughter, but the joy is shallow and eventually leads to destruction. 

Do you have family, friends, co-workers, or neighbors, that you mourn for because they do not know Jesus? Do you even give it a fleeting thought? Our hearts should be broken for them and that impending doom should drive us to action, to make sure we represent the gospel message in their lives. We must make sure we live in such a way that they want what we have, especially through the darkest valleys of our lives. Don't just mourn for them, make it your passion to share the gospel with them today and every day! Don't give up on them, like God never gave up on you!