Deep Sorrow

“I have deep sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart for my brethren according to the flesh.” Romans 9:1-4

“Do you see? Do you see… all the people sinking down? Don’t you care? Don’t you care? Are you gona let them drown? How can you be so numb not to care if they come? You close your eyes and pretend the job’s done. “Bless me Lord, bless me Lord” you know it’s all I ever hear. No one aches. No one hurts. No one even sheds one tear. But He cries, He weeps, He bleeds, and He cares for your needs.” Keith Green-Pianist, Songwriter, Singer (1953-1982)

Why did Paul have “deep sorrow and unceasing grief?” Because God weeps over people who are lost! Paul had the love of God in his life to such a degree that it caused this deep sorrow over their lost condition. What did Paul do with this grief? He prayed! “My heart’s desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation.” Romans 10:1

He preached! “And Agrippa replied to Paul, “In a short time you will persuade me to become a Christian.” And Paul said, “I would to God, that whether in a short or long time, not only you, but also all who hear me this day, might become such as I am,

except for these chains. Acts 26:28,29 He paid. It cost Paul to preach the gospel to lost people. Paul was stoned, beaten, and imprisoned, laughed at and homeless. It will cost you too, but it is worth it!

When was the last time you cried in prayer for a lost person’s soul? Have you ever had deep sorrow over someone’s eternal separation from God? I can tell you of only a few times in my life where I was moved to tears over someone’s need for Christ. I find it hard to relate to Paul’s great emotion and radical commitment to his fellow Jews over their salvation. He was a radical extremist for Christ! Are you? How can you become so filled with self-sacrificial love? I ask God to show me anything that hinders His love. Is there sin to confess and turn from? Then I ask Him to fill me with His Spirit and love through me. I challenge you to ask God to put His love in your heart for lost people. He will.