And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘See the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them as their God; they will be his peoples, and God will wipe every tear from their eyes.’ (Revelation 21:3-4)
What are the things that have made you cry? Has it been the hurt you suffered or inflicted? The betrayal you experienced or committed? Losing someone you loved, or simply losing your way? Watching one of your children make terrible choices?
Today’s scripture is hopeful and reassuring, for it says that God will finally wipe away every tear from every eye. Our tears matter to God.
When God asked Jesus to come to us, God was asking Jesus to make His home with us. No more gap between heaven and earth. No more gulf between God and us. No more would we cry alone, for now, God would cry with us through the tears of His son.
Let me give you a spiritual exercise. Go to a mirror and look at your face. Get in touch with the tears you once shed and the tears you’re now shedding. Look at your face, honor your tears, and then pray until you see God’s fingerprints on your face and your life. There are no tears God doesn’t know, no tears He won’t catch, no tears He finally won’t dry.
We can feel like we cry alone—but the Lord God is right there with us. We can feel embarrassed over our tears—but we have nothing to be embarrassed about with God. There’s no part of the human condition Jesus didn’t experience, and He shares all that we experience on our behalf with the Father.
Sometimes we need a good cry. Crying doesn’t show our weakness; it simply shows our humanity. We aren’t impervious, and we’re all more tender and vulnerable than we sometimes would like to admit.
Our tears can be a great gift to us because they can take us more deeply into God’s heart. Our tears are precious to God because we’re precious to God. When we need to cry, I encourage us to see God’s fingerprints wiping the tears from our faces while also holding us in His love.
Reflection Questions:
- What has caused the tears you have shed? Did you shed those tears alone, or did you have people who were willing to be with you?
- Do you trust that God cares about your tears? If you don’t, what would help you to believe that Jesus shares your tears with the Father and that when you cry, Jesus is crying with you?
- I invite you to remember those you have caused to cry. Is there any reaching out, apologizing, or reconciling that Jesus may be calling you to do? Have you ever considered that you could be one of God’s ways to wipe away the tears of someone else?