those who weep

"The Gospel of a broken heart demands the ministry of bleeding hearts. When our sympathy loses its pang we can no longer be the servants of the passion. We can never heal the needs we do not feel. Tearless hearts can never be heralds of the passion. We must pity if we would redeem. We must bleed if we would be ministers of the saving blood."
- J.H. Jowett in A Passion for Souls

I saw them again today. They are not outcasts, they are lost wanderers. To be an outcast you must have had a home at some point. They have none. Has Jesus knocked? Is your heart His home? If so, how can you stand the sight of so many homeless souls? Why can I stand the sight? Just as Jesus said, "there is One greater here" (speaking of His place above the Law), I believe there now stands a need more urgent than the election of earthly powers or the travail of financial systems or rumors of war, it is the prevailing need of each individual soul, standing speechless, deaf, and blind before God. "How will they hear unless there is preaching?" (Romans 10). This is not to be understood (or misunderstood) as the trained utterances of a man who, after being hidden from the public throughout the week, stands behind a lectern and wails about a distant subject matter. It is a man or a woman being moved by the Spirit, filled by love, helplessly driven by divine delight for her unseen Lover, singing in the streets or in homes to anyone who will bear to give her a minute of time. By these means the Savior knocks and calls the lost to join the banquet. I want to be there and sing now.

an afterward:
I enjoy rereading the posts and seeing all the possible points of contention (though I dislike contention). One might be a whisper of: "did you see how he said man 'or' women? Maybe he thinks women should be pastors." We all have mental hang-ups that allow us to justify our half-hearted mode of living. We commend ourselves for ferreting out indecent doctrine, while missing the heart of the message. We busy ourselves like Martha, thinking we are an example of discipline, while the spiritual Mary's enjoy a greater rest and understanding and testimony of personal relationship. Today I heard a John Piper message title "War." In it he said, "my greatest enemy is John Piper." Let us search hard for the planks. Should we preach the Gospel? Yes! Should we preach it correctly and as the Bible prescribes? Yes! There is only one God and only one Gospel. The character of that God is mercy expressed through Jesus to us, who through faith in Him are being saved (I can already imagine my studied brothers shouting "Justice! Remember justice!"). I pray that all I speak to will be saved, proving the justice of God in the death of His righteous Son. In view of His sacrifice may we learn compassion.