Christian Tears

"Ruth said [to Naomi]: 'I will not go back and abandon you,
I will go where you go...your people will be my people....'"
Ruth 1:16

Father,

Ruth, your daughter,
An open child from the plateau of Moab,
Naomi, your daughter,
A tear-tested child from the Land of Judhah,
They were foreigners to each other, BUT,
They loved with loyalty.

Let me take Ruth's heart into mine
And love with a loyalty
Those tear-tested in other lands --
My sisters and brothers in Christ,
Who live fear crouched in night silence.

They shiver from images of torture's cold blades;
They chill from stories of  the tyrant of rape;
They tremble from reports of death's darts.

They ache in heart at being driven
From Christ, His Way, His Truth.
They panic at the trap of forced marriage.
They cringe at being other's slaves. And,

Always the underdog, second-class citizens,
Living ghost  lonely with blast of hatred,
Under darkclouds of dread.

Father,

In spirit, with cries on wings,
Let me warm my sisters and brothers
With a love-loyalty, so
Their tears will be my tears. and
Pray for those who persecute.