Tears

I’m a guy and I grew up in the “if you don’t stop crying, I’ll give you something to cry about” era.  More significantly, I grew up with the “men don’t cry” attitude.

I have approached many deaths, pet deaths and sad movies, for that matter, trying to hide my emotional response because I’m the man of the house and “real men don’t cry.”  I have cleared my throat and even pinched myself to try to hold my composure together. Heck, I’ve even had my wife glance at me while watching an emotional scene in a movie and have her call me a “wuss” - whatever that is.

However, that seems to be changing in my faith walk and I think it is for the better.  I recently was talking with my wife about our puppies where she wished out loud that if they would only open up to our attention, they would experience more love and joy than they could imagine.  I instantly thought of God looking at me with that same reaction and started tearing up.  Of course, we were sitting in a thankfully empty fast food restaurant.

I have heard Pastor Patrick talk about seeing the beauty of a flock of birds or listening to a particularly inspiring song and tearing up himself.  I even had Patrick tell stories of watching our reaction to his sermon as a judge of how impactful it was. 

But wait, there’s more. 

I was watching the praise team practice the other day and the lyrics touched me.  I started welling up and one of the musicians told me that she saw me and had to divert her glance so that she could keep her composure.

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” - Philippians 4:4-9 ESV

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.” - Galatians 5:22-25

We spend so much of our time and effort acting like the way our upbringing has taught us to behave.  We need to remind ourselves that we are in the world but not of the world.  We do have guidelines of how to act but those guidelines are not from the world but from God.  God’s guidelines are the only ones that matter and, as long as we look to them, will give us joy.

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” - Romans 12:1-2

If that means people may see me getting teary eyed or even shed a tear or two, I can live with that for the joy I’m looking forward to.