When God Cries

I have been weeping a lot lately! My son, has grown into a man I am ashamed of. He has abandoned not only his family, but his faith, his values, even his sense of decency. There are times, it hurts so much I can barely breathe. But the pain in my heart is so much more than just hurt feelings, more than just shame. I am greatly concerned about his salvation. I am concerned about his health. I am concerned about his reputation. I am concerned about the damage he has done to the hearts of those who love him. I seems it was not so very long ago that I held this boy in my arms just moments from the womb. He was so tiny and so sweet. I remember proudly watching him take his first step and ride a bicycle all by himself. I remember holding him when he was ill or hurt. I remember good-night kisses and little "I love yous". I remember how proud and touched I was when he led his first devotional. I remember how he made me laugh and how excited I was when he graduated from high school. I remember not so very long ago, being proud that he took turns getting up to feed and change his newborn daughter. He made me proud so many times. From before he was born, his souls was nourished with God's word. He was always in worship, in VBS and heavily involved in youth activities. We prayed together and had family devotions. Great pains were taken to protect him from worldly influences. He was not raised to behave the way he does now, and yet . . . well, like I said, I have been weeping a lot lately.
I believe we grieve and hurt in direct proportion to how much we love. The ones we have the closest relationships with, the ones we love the most, are the ones who can inflict the most pain, who can break our hearts the fastest. This belief has led me to wonder about when God cries.
We know that He loves us and He created us from nothing but dust. We know He worked out all eternity to get us to love Him too. We know He loves us. Do you think He ever looks down at our lives and weeps? Do you think He remembers how we looked when we were born in His heart? Is He concerned about our health, our salvation and our reputation? Does He care about those whose hearts and minds are damaged by our sinful and selfish behavior? Does He ever look at us and shake His head because He knows we were not raised to behave this way? Is His heart broken that we have abandoned our faith and our church and our values? Have we grown into a people He is ashamed of? Do you think He has been weeping a lot lately?
Just as there is nothing my son can do that will change how much I love him, so God's love for us is faithful and true. The tears will not stop until my son returns to God. Just as God waits for His children to turn from evil, so will I wait patiently and tearfully for my son. If it is true that we grieve in direct proportion to how much we love and we know that " . . .God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son . . ." then the Lord of Heaven and Earth must surely grieve. Oh how His people must break His heart! Oh how my son and so often I, his mother, must cause the Father pain. I know that there are times He must be ashamed of me. I know there are times He shakes His head and weeps. Oh how it must hurt God to watch us make such choices--to watch us abandon all that is true and right and just! Oh how He must be weeping!

Holy Father, today we beg you to forgive our sinful hearts. Forgive us when we allow selfishness and sin to consume our every thought and our every deed. Take us in your arms, bring us back to all that is good and right, back to you. Dry our tears, mend our hearts, restore our spirits. Give us the strength and courage to be your Church. Thank you for your merciful and redeeming love.
In your Son's holy name,
Amen

Peace
Neva