I knew that my student Martin was cheating. He had discovered the file drawer where I kept answer keys and was on a roll of consecutive 100% perfect scores. Once I discovered his trick, though, I planted a phony answer key, and it worked! After the exam, I called Martin to my desk to watch me grade his paper. I remember how his jaw dropped lower and lower as I marked one red X after the other on his exam paper. He scored zero!

Was I angry at Martin? Yes, I was ticked when I discovered that he was stealing the keys. But after grading his paper and marking a huge zero as he watched, I felt hurt for him. Why did I feel badly for the one who reaped a just reward? I think because I knew how embarrassed he was at doing something so stupid. I knew how this test result would hurt his average. I knew he would be punished at home. In short, I internalized Martin’s pain, shame, and embarrassment. He messed up, not me, but there I was in the midst of pity and sorrow over his failure.

We often find Jeremiah agonizing over Judah’s pain and embarrassment in the same way. He assumed his people’s suffering as his own because he understood the consequences of their coming judgment. And, because his writing frequently assumed the tone of a burdensome lament, bible scholars call him theweeping prophet. We see an example of Jeremiah’s empathetic weeping at the start of chapter 9: “Oh, that my head were a spring of water and my eyes a fountain of tears! I would weep day and night for the slain of my people.”

We see in Jeremiah’s agony over Judah’s sin the contrasting tension between judgment and grace. I found an illustration in something a preacher friend once offered when asked about preaching on the topic of hell: “Yes, I must preach hell,” my friend explained, “but I should never preach like I’m happy that God created hell to punish people.”

It is true that judgment is real. So is grace. But whereas judgment will never save a soul, grace can! So in that spirit, may we practice the discipline of looking on others, even those who disappoint us, through eyes of grace. To God be glory!