Tears


REV. DAVID WALKUP Moderator


 seek glory from people, whether from you or from others, though we could  like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us (1 Thes. 2:6-8).”


“serving the Lord with all humility…” Repeatedly the scripture calls us to humility. Particularly in the wisdom A


t the most recent Ligonier    - lando Dr. Robert Godfrey said that he didn’t like “weepy” preach- ers. I thought to myself, wow, he’s not going to like me. In context, Dr. Godfrey’s comments came amid his recounting his daughter’s death. Hence, he said, I’ve become some- thing of a “weepy” preacher. Person- ally, I know I am, and perhaps you know it too. From the baptism of my oldest daughter I become moved to tears easily. Standing before General Synod is too much. I try to contain it; I even ask the Lord to not allow it to happen. I certainly pray that it will not be a distraction in worship. As if Dr Godfrey’s words concern- ing his daughter were not enough to cause tears. To make matters worse,      then sang a beautiful rendition of the hymn “He Will Hold Me Fast” pub- lished by Getty music. It is a beauti- ful song with moving words. In the Apostle Paul’s words to the Ephesian Elders in Acts chapter 20 Paul reveals a different side of the tried-and-true apostle. In verse 19 Paul says that he “…serv(ed) the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials…”. Paul says some-   “…his heart was with them. He wept and prayed with them and endured all manner of attacks and suffering from hostile hands for their sakes.” We see a similar humble and gentle


literature, where we see verses like Proverbs 11:2, “When pride comes, then  low, but he who is lowly in spirit will obtain honor” (Proverbs 29:23). And if we are having a problem with Pride, God will often bring us to humility. Isn’t that  12:7-10)?


“…and with tears…”


Paul mentions tears twice in this discourse, in verses 19 and 31. When Paul uses the term tears in these verses, I do not think it means that he was a “weepy pastor”. I do think it means, or shows, that he was a man of great empathy. Paul is being true to his admonition in Romans 12:15, “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep”. Paul was certainly a strong preacher. As we have already seen, he “did not shrink from declaring the whole counsel of God”. Paul was also a man of great empathy. Paul had learned how to identify with the people he was ministering to. As Dr. James Montgomery Boice says, “If someone was happy, he was happy with them because he was happy for them.”  them and, to some extent, could live with what they were going through.


In Conclusion


As Dr. Boice writes: “Have you ever asked why Paul was so effective as he went through the Greek and Roman world planting churches? Was it his preaching? Yes, of course. His preaching was strong…He taught the whole counsel of God, and God blessed the hearers through his Word. But I sense that Paul’s success also had a great deal to do with the empathy he had for other people. He struggled with them in their struggles and grieved with them in their griefs. They remembered this and recognized that in Paul there was some- thing that they did not see in the world around them.”  Jesus gave us the ultimate example of humility and service in washing the feet of his disciples. Jesus, “…who though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of man. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” Isaiah prophesied, “a bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not quench...”


Acts 20:27 “The Whole Counsel of God” 4 The Associate Reformed Presbyterian


Moderator’s Challenge


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