Bitter Weeping

When was the last time you cried? I’m not just talking to the women, but the men, too! What was it that made you cry?

Have you ever cried over sin? Peter did.

Matthew 26:73-75      ⁷³ After a little while, those standing there went up to Peter and said, “Surely you are one of them; your accent gives you away.” ⁷⁴ Then he began to call down curses, and he swore to them, “I don’t know the man!” Immediately a rooster crowed. ⁷⁵ Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: “Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly.

What is interesting is that Peter cried immediately upon realizing he had sinned. I think that shows how much he did love Jesus and how truly repentant he was. Once he realized he had sinned he didn’t try to go on with life as if nothing had happened or with the hopes of his sin going unnoticed. He wasn’t just crying over the consequences of sin, either.

Are you and I more upset over the consequences of sin rather than the actual sin itself? Kent talked last week about how much God loves us. How much do you and I love God? I think our true heart is revealed by the way we handle our own sin. I think the most bitter weeping we should ever do is over our own sin. It should lead us to turn to God for forgiveness and sincerely seek His help to be more Christ-like going forward. As we’re reconciled back to God, we can truly experience His comfort and peace.

Jesus promised in Matthew 5:4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” And Peter himself, speaking from experience, told the crowd in Acts 3:19 “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.”

We can’t experience God’s comfort and refreshment until we truly mourn and repent of our sin. So, I pray the next time you and I sin we will love God enough to weep bitterly and turn back to Him.

Alice