TEARS IN A BOTTLE!

TEARS IN A BOTTLE!

John 11:33-36

33 When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled,

34 And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see.

35 Jesus wept.

36 Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him!

The shortest verse in the Bible is also a powerful contradiction to the machismo declaration that real men don’t cry. Assuming that Jesus was a real man, and one can assume nothing else, we see him stand before the tomb of Lazarus and weep. He whose hands scooped out canyons and flung stars into their proper orbit shed tears! He makes tiny diamond drops on his tanned cheeks and swipes them aside with carpenter hands. Real men DO cry. Sometimes crying is the only thing that makes sense!

When the same brothers that sold you into lonely slavery now wait your decision as to whether they will live or starve, it makes sense to weep. Joseph did not seek whether to weep; he sought where to weep.

Gen 43:30

30 And Joseph made haste; for his bowels did yearn upon his brother: and he sought where to weep; and he entered into his chamber, and wept there.

When evil men all around him abandoned the rule of God the psalmist cried rivers! 

Ps 119:136

136 Rivers of waters run down mine eyes, because they keep not thy law.

Ps 56:8

8 Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book?

The so called lachrymatories or “tear bottles” were often found buried with the dead as a symbol of grief. Some, however, think the psalmist had in mind the huge skin bottles used to hold water. This is a strong metaphor of God’s care for our suffering but why would God store up our tears in His bottle?

1. AS A REMINDER OF PRAYERS TO BE ANSWERED!

God is not forgetful as we are and when we pray God gives careful attention to each request. Tears in God’s bottle represent prayers on deposit for answer at a later, perhaps better, time.

2. AS A REMINDER OF WRONGS TO BE AVENGED!

It is a dangerous thing to make a little child weep by our cruelty! He is the champion of widows and orphans. Like the blood of Abel their tears cry out for retribution.

Ps 68:5

5 A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, is God in his holy habitation.

Dear Jesus, though a veteran of many spiritual battles, sometimes I just want to sit in your lap and weep awhile. Thank you for the comfort of the Holy Spirit. AMEN