Jesus Wept

Not long ago, in a moment of frustration and pain, I made an angry movement that splashed water onto a picture of Jesus' face. Looking at the moistened picture, I thought of the part of the Bible when, according to the shortest verse in all scripture, John 11:35, "Jesus wept." At that time, I don't think Jesus wept because Lazarus had died. Jesus knew the Plan of Salvation better than anyone; He knew that Lazarus was okay and that, soon enough, his entire family would be reunited with him. Jesus knew that the pain He and His loved ones were experiencing at the loss of Lazarus was temporary, and with His eternal perspective, I think He could have kept it together.

I think He wept, not because of the pain of His loss, but out of sympathy for those others who were mourning Lazarus' death. He wasn't weeping for His pain, but for theirs. He had so much compassion that, even though He knew that, in the long run, Lazarus' death wasn't really a big deal, He was moved to tears because He knew it was a big deal to those whom He was with.

The pain and frustration I experience isn't really a big deal either. It'll pass. Sure, my ear hurts and there are various aspects of my life that are frustrating and painful, but I know that whatever pain or hardship I'm going through, it won't last forever. Yet, I'm not as good at keeping an Eternal Perspective as Jesus is. I was in pain and frustrated and I've wept once or twice over the last few days, and when I looked up at the wet picture, I got the impression that Jesus was weeping with me. He has sympathy for my pain, just as He had had sympathy for the pain of the family of Lazarus.

The picture I got wet the other day has the caption "You are never alone. I will not leave you comfortless. I will come to you. (John 14:16)" I testify that Jesus did not leave me comfortless that day. He came to me with compassion and healing. Even though my pain is temporary and very miniscule compared to His, He has compassion for me an He suffers with me whenever I suffer. That is, perhaps, the most intimate aspect of the Atonement. Jesus knows exactly what we're going through, and He is with us every step of the way. His love and compassion extends to all of us and I believe that whenever we weep, so does He.