Maybe it is a life of unbridled immorality. It might be a fellow defiantly refusing to accept the Lord’s authority. Perhaps it is a person who has been swept away by false teaching. For others, it could be that indifference has taken root in their heart. Regardless of what the reason(s) might be, when a soul is lost, it is an immeasurable tragedy.
Sin stains the soul. Sin slays those who practice it. Sin separates its participants from the Lord. Sin slams shut the door to heaven. Yes, sin stains, slays, separates, and slams. Sin is one hundred per cent detrimental.
As we think about the horribleness of sin, we are reminded that our Father calls on all of His children to be tenderhearted (Eph. 4:32). Each of us has his/her own unique personality/character/makeup. Some Christians rarely show their emotions outwardly, but they have a tender, caring heart. Others among us tear up, blubber, and sob at the slightest provocation. Surely we all have this in common, though: we are saddened by the fact that people live and die outside the Lord.
The God of heaven is devastated when humans refuse to submit to Him and accept His salvation. In speaking about the rebellious Jews of Ezekiel’s generation, God said, “...I am broken with their whorish heart, which hath departed from me, and with their eyes, which go a whoring after their idols: and they shall loathe themselves for the evils which they have committed in all their abominations” (Ezek. 6:9). Man’s sin crushes God’s heart.
Do you recall how Jesus wept over the city of Jerusalem because its inhabitants would not accept Him as the Messiah, and by rejecting Him brought condemnation on their souls? As He approached the city in what some call His “Triumphant Entry,” despite the excitement of some, His heart was broken. Luke’s concise record says, “And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it” (Luke 19:41). A few days later, as He was drawing ever closer to the cross, the sadness in His heart sounded forth in these words: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not” (Matt. 23:37).
God’s servants are broken-hearted too, when people are lost. Jeremiah is labeled as “the weeping prophet” because we read about how his tears flowed due to the Jews’ choice not to obey the Lord God (Jer. 9:1).
Have you ever paid attention to the following statement which the writer of the book of Psalms made to God? “Rivers of waters run down mine eyes, because they keep not thy law” (Psalm 119:136). It is not revealed whom “they” were or what specific transgressions they had committed, but the Psalmist’s heart was devastated by their disobedience and what such did to their relationship with the Lord.
Among the early Christians, more than once we read about the apostle Paul being moved to tears because of false teachers and departures from the faith. As he was telling the shepherds of the church in Ephesus about a future departure from the truth, he reminded them that for three years he had warned them night and day with tears (Acts 20:31). While in chains in Rome, he wrote a letter to the saints in Philippi, warning them about enemies of the cross. As he brought up that unpleasant topic, he said he was weeping as he wrote (Phil. 3:18). The man was broken-hearted because of sin and its affect on people’s eternal destiny.
Some look at the masses of the world who are steeped in spiritual darkness and just seem to shrug their shoulders with the observation, “Well, it always has been like that; there is not much we can do about it.” Perhaps others of us have become desensitized to sin. We see it and hear it so much that it kinda feels like it is no big deal. May God help us if we ever get to the point that we view sin as a small matter. And God help us if we do not share His broken heart when people live and die separated from Him.
Compassion causes Christians to communicate to lost people what they need to hear, which is God’s eternal, soul-saving truth. “Oh, will you not tell it, today?”
Roger D. Campbell
120 Fawn Dr.
Cleveland, TN 37412
posted by HPEDIE | 4:21 AM
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