Why Aren't We Crying?

I read the news this morning of 700 Africans drowning in the Mediterranean. And I cried. I was in a bustling coffee shop surrounded by strangers, and I put my head in my hands and cried. It was the correct response to such horrible desperation.

For if we claim to be followers of Jesus, where are our tears? If we can read of 700 desperate Africans fleeing hunger and violence without putting our heads down and sobbing, then what is wrong with us? Where have we gone wrong? To what are we giving our hearts if not to relieve the pain of people who are just like us. Moms dads sons daughters brothers sisters. We are all the same. 

It is scary how hard it is to love others. We are told plainly and often to love each other, but we do it so poorly. Why is it so difficult? Why do we complicate it so? Does this go back to fear? To pride? To our constant struggle to die to self? To die to our need to get our own way? 

"Meditate on Jesus, who is the ultimate meditation of God. Look at him loving you. Look at him dying for you. Look at him rejoicing in you. Look at him singing over you. Look at all that, and he will be a delight to you. . . " Timothy Keller, Prayer, Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God

It is only in seeing how well Jesus loves me, that I can ever hope to love others. By admitting and holding onto how lovable and valuable Jesus sees me, I can then look at every other person and see them as lovable and valuable. This should change everything about how I live EVERY day. Because love is an action. Love has hands and feet. Love is not a word. Love is a way of living.

The Lord your God is among you, 
a warrior who saves.
He will rejoice over you with gladness.
He will bring you quietness with His love.
He will delight in you with shouts of joy.”
Zephaniah 3:17