Jesus Wept Over the City

Laura Roland ponders the beauty of Veronica's tender heart toward Christ at the thought of His weeping.

He saw the city and wept. (Luke 19: 41)

There had been warnings. He sent the best to tell them. Not many listened. This Gospel is a harsh reminder of what becomes of us when we reject God. We are trampled on, surrounded by our enemies who want to smash us, to kill us. For when we reject God, we reject all the beauty and truth that follows Him: prosperity, peace, love.

Jesus weeping is one of the most difficult things for me to bear when I read Scripture. It is the most human thing He does to which I can most relate.

I have wept openly at beauty and loss; at love and hate; at goodness and evil. I experience a visceral reaction for another reason though; it is the realization that I cause Him to weep.

Rather than being a source of comfort and joy for Him in his suffering, each time I sin, I, like those who did not heed the warnings, reject Him. With that rejection I cause the person I love the most in my world to experience pain and suffering. And I move closer to being a fallen Jerusalem than Veronica. If I want to be Veronica to Christ on the road to Calvary— and I do, I first need to be Laura to Christ in my everyday heart.

Where do you meet Christ in your everyday heart?