The Cry of God… To: You

For many years I did not live near my family, so weekly phone calls kept us close. But for me, talking was not enough. I needed us to truly share our hearts and thoughts to bridge the distance and feel close.

I loved it when my dad would reveal what he had been thinking about (more like meditating on) while reading his Bible.

“You know Christy-babe,” he would start. This time I heard the awe in his voice and noticed that it broke with emotion. “The first time anyone ever heard God’s voice was in a cry.

”When you strip everything else away from Christmas celebrations, it comes down to being simply about a baby. A holy baby, the Christ-child, a tiny infant. A baby who cried.

Some would like you to think that as the God-child, “no crying He makes.” Not so! He cried for his mommy; He cried when He was hungry; He cried when He was wet. He cried.

Isn’t it amazing that the God who had everything and lived in heavenly majesty, who never knew pain, or sorrow, headaches, or disappointment, let go of everything in order to become human? And, not to be a fully grown adult in control of his life, but a dependent baby with no control over anything.

Just think, the very first sound anyone heard from God Himself was a cry.That says something to me. The God I reach up to understands me when I cry. After all, God made me and my human emotions. He made my tear ducts so they could cry.

And God made the cry of a baby to clearly and effectively speak without words. Every mother learns what the different cries of her baby are about, and Mary learned Jesus’ cries as well.

Isaiah 53:3 says that Jesus as an adult was a Servant to mankind. He wasn’t handsome, even though movie directors insist that handsome actors playing Jesus. The scripture says there wasn’t anything physically attractive about Him. In fact, He was looked down on, He suffered, and He knew pain firsthand.

Jesus, who knew glory in heaven (which I can hardly figure out how to describe), experienced rejection, put downs, and extreme disappointment. Like many of you, I identify more with this human side of Jesus. And that is okay.

Maybe you have cried lately. Maybe the holidays bring to mind problems and hurt for you, even when you see everyone else being happy and celebrating.

I understand. But I hope to encourage you with this: Christmas is all about the God-child who came to earth so that men and women everywhere for all time could be reconnected with the God who made them and loves them so deeply that He cries over them.

Yes, I believe Jesus cries over our hurts. When we reject His love and plans for our lives, it hurts Him so much that He cries. Jesus cried over His city. He cried when His friend Lazarus died. He cried when things got really tough and the personal pain too great just before He was arrested. He cried out to His Father from the cross.

For me, the one huge reason we celebrate Christmas is that God came to earth to identify with His creation — humbly, softly, and emotionally.

Maybe through your tears, you’ll find enough joy to celebrate the birth of the God-child who gets you. You are not alone. You matter to God. Your tears matter. The cry of your heart is being heard by God. Reach UP to Him. He’s reaching out to you. It will make all the difference.