All my life I have been a very sensitive, tender-hearted person. I cry at the drop of a hat. Growing up, I had always been embarrassed by it because people saw me cry a lot or completely show all of my emotions on my face. Many people have said, "suck it up and be strong" or "don't be such a baby" and have perceived me as a weak individual. But as I've grown up I've realized that just because I am quick to sense my feelings or because I have a gentle, sentimental nature doesn't mean I'm weak, it means I'm human.
Now, I am not saying that people who don't cry easily don't have a heart or are cold. God made each person different in how we react to things and feel things. If my future husband cried as much as I did, we would be a mess as a couple. There is a balance that needs to happen in relationships like this. However, it is equally as important to be able to empathize with someone when they are going through a tough time. Sometimes you need a shoulder to cry on, and sometimes you need someone to just cry with you.
Jesus was a shoulder that people could cry on, he was also another set of eyes that could weep with them. This is how we should live, too. In the book of John, chapter 35, verses 28-37 it talks about Mary's brother, Lazarus who died. Mary said to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." Then Jesus saw her weeping and saw others around him weeping and the Bible says that he was deeply moved and greatly troubled. Jesus said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to him, "Lord, come and see." Then, Jesus wept.
Jesus knew all along what had happened to Lazarus and where he was. Jesus wept with them because he had compassion for the bereaved. He was leading them by his example. He was physically showing them when your neighbor hurts, so should you. He wasn't upset because Lazarus died. Jesus raised him back to life just a few verses later. He knew the whole time God's plan. But he saw it as important to show compassion towards others and to have a sensitive heart to others' emotions.
Expressing grief does not mean that you are weak. Not expressing grief does not mean that are the strongest person either. Jesus, the One who was beaten, mocked, spat upon, whipped, had nails hammered in his wrists, hung on a cross, and died for our sins and wanted nothing but mercy for the people who were doing all these things to him, wept. No one saw him as weak when he was resurrected three days later.
Jesus was sensitive to his friends' emotions. Don't mistake sensitivity as weakness, see it as a strength.
