Big girls (and boys) do cry

I have a confession to make: whenever I watch the ending of Spider-Man 2 (starring Tobey Maguire, Kristen Dunst, and Alfred Molina), I always cry.  I can almost feel Peter’s ache: he yearned to be with Mary Jane, but yet he also believed that he never could be with her because he wanted to protect her from his enemies.  But Mary Jane made it clear that she wanted to take the inevitable risks and be with him and no one else.  Peter and Mary Jane kiss until police sirens blare, MJ encourages Peter by saying, “Go get them, Tiger.”

The last time I watched this movie,  as I was again crying my eyes out during that final scene, God brought a verse of Scripture to my mind that has since become a precious verse to me.  It was Psalm 56:8: “put my tears into Your bottle; are they not in your book?” (NKJV) 

Ever since the Lord brought that verse to my mind, I’ve been cognizant of tears.  Both men and women cry.  We cry tears of joy, tears of sorrow, and we even sometimes cry after laughing a long time.  I came across a sermon from a great website called preaching point.com.  By the way, I want to express a big thank you to preaching point.com for granting me permission to quote from their website.  A preacher named Rick Lance apparently once delivered a sermon on Psalm 56 entitled “Your God and your tears.”  Here’s the link…

http://www.preachingpoint.com/templates/System/details.asp?id=43859&PID=632654

I like what Lance says, “He puts your tears in a bottle.  Now, what does that mean?  It is a quaint way of saying that your God knows your sorrows and struggles.  He knows every tear that you shed.  If your God knows and cares for the birds of the air and all other living creatures, He certainly knows and cares about your situation” (this excerpt is found under point 1: Your God knows and cares about your tears).  

Lance then goes on to state this in another section: “The text also describes your God as Divine Accountant.  He records your tears on a scroll or a ledger.  Like an accountant, He records those tears, not that He needs to be reminded of them but, rather, it is a way of helping you know that your tears are sacred” (also under point number 1).

I love the thought that God considers my tears sacred.  I love thinking about God as a “Divine Accountant” who cares about me so much that He makes note of all the tears that I cry.  What a comforting notion!  I would encourage you all to read more of Rick Lance’s sermon from the included link.

Kevin