Sermon Snippet – What Good Are Our Tears to God?
INTRODUCTION – There is a sad side to Valentine’s Day, for we miss many dear ones. Last week, we touched upon David’s sorrow in Psalm 56:8: “Thou tellest my wanderings: put Thou my tears into Thy bottle: are they not in Thy book?” What good are our tears to God?
1. TEARS INCREASE OUR DEPENDENCE ON GOD
If all of life were the perfect Valentine’s Day with my beloved, would I think as much about God? In Psalm 6:6, David’s intense sorrow is revealed: “I am weary with my groaning; all the night make I my bed to swim; I water my couch with my tears.” It is true that troubles lead us closer to God, encouraging prayer. In verse 9, David finds respite from his tears: “The LORD hath heard my supplication; the LORD will receive my prayer.” In times of real difficulty, we are drawn to prayer. I think of Jesus, God the Son, in the Garden of Gethsemane, “Being in an agony He prayed more earnestly: and His sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground” (Luke 22:44). Certainly we should follow our Savior’s great example.
2. TEARS INCREASE OUR SYMPATHY FOR OTHERS
If all of life were the perfect Valentine’s Day with my beloved, would I think as much about the needs and concerns of other people? Often God brings people together because of shared sorrows (empathy, which is even stronger than sympathy). Even if we do not experience the same, exact difficulties, our acquaintance with sadnesses makes us more sensitive to others. Paul deals with this subject in II Corinthians 1:3-5. As ever, our greatest example is the Savior: “Jesus wept” (John 11:35) about the death of Lazarus. He also “wept over” (Luke 19:41) the city of Jerusalem, prophetically lamenting its destruction decades later. His solicitude for others, shown most powerfully at the Cross, is our model.
3. TEARS INCREASE OUR LONGING FOR SOMETHING BETTER – HEAVEN
If all of life were the perfect Valentine’s Day with my beloved, would I think as much about heaven? Would I yearn for that eternal home? Revelation 21:4 reveals a bit about our heavenly haven: “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” We see what God will ultimately do with our tears – He will wipe them away and place them eternally into His “bottle.”
CONCLUSION – What good are our tears to God? He employs them for good, increasing our dependence on Him, our sympathy for others, and our longing for heaven. When our tears are no longer needed, He will wipe all of them away – forever. May we trust in Jesus for eternal life, and may we trust Him with our lives now, including the tears.