Innocence and Tears
One of life’s great tragedies is the loss of innocence. Children and young adults because of war, violence, and evil become exposed and victimized; thus the playfulness and wonder of innocence is stolen from them. A natural disaster can take anyone of us from safety and comfort to instant horror. Often the loss of innocence occurs in society as our culture sells sex and violence in the mainstream of media. The sanctuary of home and safe communities are trumped by modern day hedonism. Sex, drugs, violence, fame and money become the gods of life.
And while we cannot un-ring the bell of lost innocence; we can dry tears and create environments that love and nurture the lost and broken. We can also stop the cycles of violence and abuse that many suffer. As a collective society we can petition government and institutions to control and protect the young and vulnerable from predators. We can limit and regulate the vile or vulgar advertisement and online content that seek to rob our children of their innocence.
Human trafficking and civil war, as well as abject poverty, often make the widow and the orphan human pawns in the daily brokering of evil.
The demonic realm seeks to steal our innocence and our very souls. We can’t overcome evil with evil, but we must overcome evil with good. We can reclaim broken lives one person at a time and by one gesture of love at a time. We can support an orphan with a monthly gift. We can volunteer for our local protective shelters. We can confront the bully and those that allow others to bully. We can take on a foster child or take an interest in a person who seems lost.
Tears and loss of innocence in our world seem limitless and unstoppable. We must pray, work and love each day to dry tears and restore the broken. But we must accept that there are tears and lost innocence that only God himself and dry and repair. God will dry every tear and repair every broken life.
I am sharing with you today one of the devotional pages from my book, Leading From Our Knees as the closing message of the Thought for the Day.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tears That Only God Can Dry
“SORROW AND PAIN SHALL BE NO MORE AS ALL THINGS ARE MADE NEW”
“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more
death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former
things are passed away. And He that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all
things new.…”
FEATURED SCRIPTURE: REVELATION 21:4–5
BACKGROUND SCRIPTURES: REVELATION 21:1–8; 1 CORINTHIANS 2:9–10
Some leaders of faith serve in the bowels of human suffering and misery. This service takes
place on the battlefields, in the war zones, in abject poverty, and in the midst of emergency
relief services. Some leaders deal daily with lives that are broken physically, mentally, and
spiritually. Leaders of faith are often called to deal with human tragedy, whether it is caused by
man or by nature.
In times of great crises, leaders of faith see the tears, death, pain, and sorrow that cannot be
comforted by man. Despite this, we should not falter in doing good. Jesus will bring life and
healing even in the depravity of humanity, as long as we let our light of love and service shine in
us and through us. Regardless of how unspeakable the sin of man’s inhumanity to man can be,
or how destructive the occurrences of nature can seem, leaders can take solace that Jesus will
make all things new. Sometimes we don’t have the capacity to dry the human tears ourselves;
these are the tears that only God can dry.
In these dire circumstances, we as leaders often attest to seeing the Holy Spirit through acts
of decency and dignity even in the midst of untold human suffering. Our true hope is eternal. As
leaders, we are called to serve God wherever His call takes us. It is our efforts in times of tribulation
that can magnify Christ the greatest. And we must always remember: “Eye hath not seen, nor
ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them
that love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9).
God can do more than dry the wettest tear or soothe the most horrific pain. No man has ever
or will ever imagine in their hearts what good things He has prepared in eternity for those who
love Him. Leaders of faith are often the final repositories of hope in dire human circumstances.
But rest assured that the hope you offer those whom you lead and serve in times of sorrow for
Christ’s sake is not lost.
While we cannot dry every tear, we know that those who trust in the resurrected and glorified
Christ will have all their pain, sorrow, and loss removed from them. And God shall wipe
away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying,
neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. Serve on in new
confidence and faith.
Our Prayer: Lord God, we know moments will come for some leaders of faith that will hold
hurt, pain, sorrow, and unspeakable loss. Help us to always know that the pains and tears of this life
will be wiped away forever for those who love You. Give us the courage to lead others in these
situations by clinging to Your promises. Amen.