Ninetieth Birthday

My An Arkie's Faith column from the April 3, 2024, issue of The Polk County Pulse.

The wind buffeted the little Maverick pickup as we drove through Western Kansas on Interstate 70. My wife and I were on our way to Denver, Colorado, to attend my brother-in-law's ninetieth birthday. The road seemed to stretch on forever as the wind continued to blow. When we crossed the state line between Kansas and Colorado, a sign read, "Welcome to Colorful Colorado." 

I surveyed the landscape around me and saw nothing but brown, tan, and beige. There was nothing colorful that I could see. The Eastern Colorado plains are among the most sparsely populated areas in the continental United States. The dry grasslands stretched before me as far as the eye could see. Occasionally, there would be a farmstead with a few trees around it to break up the monotonous tan of the dry grasslands.

But I knew that three hours down the road, rugged mountains and city congestion spread out along Colorado's front range. Before long, we would be meeting family and preparing for a weekend of birthday activities. 

The birthday weekend started Friday night with a party at The Old Spaghetti Factory. Over forty family members from as far away as Oregon and Arkansas met for a fun evening celebrating Duane's milestone ninetieth birthday. It was great to visit with family we hadn't seen for some time. The family reconvened for a wonderful meal at Vista Ridge Academy in Erie, Colorado, on Saturday afternoon. 

Spending time with family and celebrating Duane's ninetieth birthday was the perfect way for me to spend Easter weekend. Easter morning, I reflected on the final week of Jesus' life. One of the stories that I remember from that week is Jesus crying for the city of Jerusalem. If He wept over the city of Jerusalem, can you imagine how He is crying over the world today?

When I was growing up, my family attended a small church in Fort Lupton, Colorado. The small church shared a pastor with another church. Sometimes, when the pastor wasn't there for the mid-week prayer service, those in attendance would take turns reciting a favorite text. Being a smart aleck, I thought it was amusing to say that my favorite verse was John 11:35. "Jesus wept."

As I have grown older, it has become a favorite verse of mine. The simple words "Jesus wept" may reveal as much about Jesus as any words ever written about Him. I'm sure that you remember Lazarus's story. When he became ill, his sisters sent a message to Jesus telling him, "Lord, the one you love is very sick." Jesus chose to wait until Lazarus had died before He came. We read the story in John 11:33-35 (NLT). "When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within Him, and He was deeply troubled. 'Where have you put him?' He asked them. They told him, 'Lord, come and see.' Then Jesus wept."

Why did Jesus cry? Was it because of his love for Lazarus? He knew Lazarus would be alive in a few minutes. Jesus was crying because his friends were sad. Their sorrow moved him. Jesus is painfully aware of your suffering. Psalms 56:8 (NLT) tells us, "You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book."

A few days before he died, "Jesus came near Jerusalem. He saw the city and began to cry for it." Luke 19:41 (ICB): Why was Jesus crying? Was He crying for a city? Luke 13:34 (NLT) gives us some insight into this story. "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God's messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn't let me." Jesus was crying for the people of Jerusalem. He had come to save them, but most were unwilling to be saved. Even though they had rejected him and his salvation, He had compassion for them.

If we follow Jesus' example, how should we, as Christians, relate to sinners? We should have compassion. It seems to me that many Christians have lost their compassion. Looking around, I don't often see Christians dealing with others with understanding. I am more apt to see hate than compassion.

Consider a few hot-button topics and see your response toward the following groups. LGTBQ, Muslims, Adulterers, Abortionists, Thieves, Drug Dealers, Illegal Aliens, Prostitutes, Atheists. Do you have compassion for them, or is your response something different? Can you hate someone while you are praying for their salvation? Should we hate someone that Jesus died for because he loves them?

Following the example of Jesus and having compassion for sinners is very liberating. It allows us to leave the judging up to God while practicing the self-sacrificing love He demonstrated on the cross. It will enable us to hold ourselves to a high moral standard without feeling that we must hate those who do not see things the way we do. 

Daniel Darling writes, "We must not allow our protest against values with which we disagree to overshadow our responsibility to show Christ's love for the world. It may very well be the person who offends us the most whom God is in the process of saving. And our gracious response might be the bridge that the Spirit uses to usher him from death to life."

A trendy catchphrase in Christianity is, "What Would Jesus Do?" WWJD is found on jewelry, emblazoned on bumper stickers, and has entered popular culture. The only way to determine what Jesus would do is by learning what Jesus did. Romans 5:8 (NKJV) says, "God demonstrates His love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

Gentle Reader, Jesus cried for a city of sinners who rejected him. He asked his Father to forgive those who tortured and killed him. We should love the sinner as Christ loves us. After all, we are sinners too. Holding a sign that says "God Hates You" is not an effective way to witness. Let's follow the example of Jesus, love sinners, and hate sin in our own lives. John, the disciple that Jesus loved, tells us in 1 John 4:8 (NKJV) that "he who does not love does not know God, for God is love."