Jeremiah was called to be the moral voice for a nation that didn’t care about right and wrong.  His heart was torn between his love for his nation and his love for God—a love which demanded obedience.  This internal conflict is why he is called the “Weeping Prophet.”  His weeping, however, was not a sign of personal weakness, but of his great compassion and love for his people.

Christ displayed similar traits of compassion and love as He conducted His earthly ministry. (Mat. 15:32; Mark 1:41)  Oh that we would have a heart like Jeremiah and Christ; that we would be a “balm in Gilead”—a living salve to soothe and heal those bruised by the ills of this world.

  

Our health as a nation, as a church, as a family, as individuals will not progress until we visit the Great Physician, Jesus Christ. (Mark 2:17)  Yes, there is a balm in Gilead to make the wounded whole…there is a balm in Gilead to heal the sin sick soul.