When Richard Wurmbrandt, founder of the Voice of the Martyrs, sought to raise awareness in America of the plight of Christ followers around the world who were being persecuted, tortured, and killed, the American Church looked the other way. He retold only the mildest episodes of the violence he endured, yet it was too much for them. Pastors “outlawed” the books among their flocks, saying Christians should not read such violence.1
God’s heart is stirred when He hears the cry of the orphan, the widow, those enslaved in the sex trade industry, the poor, the martyrs, and all who are mistreated or not cared for. Yet it’s so easy to look away. It’s so easy for us to stop up our ears and refuse to hear their cry. We close our eyes and won’t look at the pictures. We close off our hearts and refuse to feel their pain.
One of the most wonderful, and overwhelming things about Jesus is that He walked, not just a mile, but for over 3 decades, in our shoes. He took on humanity. He stooped down and got a good look at what it was to live in a world under the curse of evil, and then He lived in it with us. The author of Hebrews says that we have a High Priest, Jesus Christ, who is able to sympathize with our weakness.2
What did Jesus do when tragedy occurred? When His good friends lost their brother, He wept with them. Think about that. Here is the God who is a man and the man who is God. He was there when the foundations of the earth were laid. He was intimately involved in the creation of the first man. He has seen death thousands upon thousands of time. He has seen the very first death. He has seen mothers lose babies, women lose husbands, children lose mothers and fathers. He also knows that death is under His authority, and that He has the power to undo death. So when Lazarus died, He could have shoved it off with the same words that we often say: “Death happens. We’re all going to die someday.” Or, He could have said, “Mary! Martha! What the heck are you crying for?” and immediately after, raised Lazarus from the dead.
But he didn’t. He cared for the wounded souls of Mary and Martha by first entering into their grief. Can you imagine what it would feel like to have the Son of God grieve with you? He validated their sorrows. He also joined with them in weeping for their dim outlook on the future. Lazarus’ death may have meant the sisters would be homeless and poor, because they appear to have been unmarried, dependent on their brother. Then, Jesus dried His tears on His sleeve, and I imagine with a bit of a twinkle in His eye, He flashed a glance at Mary and Martha that said, “You’ll never guess what I’m gonna do now” . . . “LAZARUS!! COME FORTH!”3
Scripture tells us to mourn with those who mourn and rejoice with those who rejoice.4 One of the biggest secrets to Jesus’ ministry was compassion. Isaiah 42 says that the Servant of the Lord (a prophetic reference to Jesus) would not break a bruised reed or put out the light of a dimly-lit candle.5 Matthew 9 records an instance where Jesus saw the crowds and felt compassion on them because they were “harassed and hopeless, like sheep without a shepherd.”6
Yet human misery can be so overwhelming, that we easily shake off the discipline of compassion and of entering into another’s grief, whether it be their physical pain, their emotions surrounding a loved ones’ death, or the extreme cruelty that evil people have inflicted on them. We have got to allow God to soften our hearts so that we can have compassion and enter into the sorrows of others.
Recently I read a newsletter from some missionaries in the Philippines. It included pictures of the cargo boxes in which child sex slaves are shipped. I wept. I taped up the picture in a prominent place on the wall so that I would always see it and remember to pray for these children. The next morning when I saw the picture, I looked away. “I don’t feel like praying about that right now,” I thought. It’s too emotional, it requires too much effort. Other people will pray for them.”
“Oh God! Don’t let my heart grow cold!” I cried. I wanted to share these pictures7 and invite you to enter into the compassion Jesus has towards these children and the pain and sorrow Father feels about their terrible treatment. Pray for them! Let us not harden our hearts at the cries of injustice! Though it’s difficult to think about the reality of what these children experience, let us not look away and deny that cruelty and injustice are going on! WEEP! MOURN! CRY OUT TO THE LORD!
Editor’s note:
Check out our latest Fire On Your Head podcast where we interview Rett & Sherrill Bragg, missionaries to Peru for over 30 years. They have actively hidden and protected children from being used as human sacrifices in the Jungles of Peru, and sharing the light of the Gospel in very dark places.
Peruvian Children At Risk
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