Sometimes, We… (Bulletin Article for January 13)

Sunday was one of the most emotional days with which I have ever been involved. As you saw on the front page, brother Max Burleson responded to the Lord’s invitation. I know there were tears of joy because he made his life right with the Lord.

We also shed tears of sadness together as I announced that my family and I would be moving to Nashville. Saying goodbye is a difficult thing, especially when so much of us is here. I don’t cry all that often (although, maybe I should cry more than I do), but there was no avoiding it on Sunday. While we are excited about the possibilities before us, it will be hard to leave a place we love so dearly.

We often sing the song “God’s Family,” and in that song we teach each other: “sometimes we laugh together, sometimes we cry.” For most of us, the laughter is easier. We enjoy joking around, watching a funny television show, and retelling humorous stories from our past. One of the great things about the Christian family is being able to laugh together at things that are wholesome.

But sometimes, we must cry, and it is not wrong to do so. Our smallest children know that “Jesus wept” (John 11:35), as did many other great men and women in the Bible. David poetically wrote, “I am weary with my sighing; Every night I make my bed swim, I dissolve my couch with my tears” (Psalm 6:6). Jeremiah has often been called “the weeping prophet,” and one of the books he penned is known as Lamentations.

Great people cry, but it is always easier to grieve when there is someone who understands. A shoulder to cry on is one of the best sources of encouragement anyone can give. And there are some strong shoulders in the Church! So many are willing to “weep with those who weep” (Romans 12:15), and we are thankful for those whose shoulders are there for us when we need them.

But there is more to “God’s Family” than laughing and crying, and it’s what concludes the song that makes the tears easier to take. It’s what helps us dry our tears and move on. It’s what helps us realize that we don’t really say “goodbye” to a Christian, we just say, “I’ll see you later.”
“Sometimes we dream together of how it will be; when we all get to Heaven—God’s family.”