Revelation 21:4
And He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”
I have been ashamed a few times in my life. Usually it had to do with something I did, or did not do to a loved one. I got in trouble a lot as a kid and it did not bother me much. But when my mother told me she “was disappointed in me,” I wanted to disappear. I have said things to my wife and she has given me that disappointed look before. It hurts so badly. That gut kind of hurt that is not only emotionally painful but physically painful as well. I have hurt a lot of people. Knowing that hurts me. But the ones that truly love me have not held it against me. Love is a cool thing.
I have wondered many times about the verse above. I focused on the first part for a long time. This is what comes to mind…
To say that “He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes” is such an act of tenderness from a loving God. And we expect that. But why are we crying? Especially in Heaven? My thoughts are we will be crying because we will realize for the first time that we missed it. We missed the point of a relationship with his Son. Rather than taking it personal and treating it like a passionate love affair with Jesus, we have accepted theological ramblings, formulas, and bullet point faith that has left us reeling for authenticity. We have missed it. We get to Heaven, Gods home, and we give him our theology, or our church membership, or our discipline, or our religious check list. What He wants is our love. We realize that and we begin to cry…in sadness and shame.
But thankfully, our great God is not finished. “there shall no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away. ” as His hand wipes away the tears, gently holding our faces in His hands, He reminds us that now we “shall know Him as He is”, completely, honestly, full of His majesty, grace, love, total acceptance, with no desire to worry about the approval of people, institutions, careers, or even self. We shall be like Him!
There may be puffy eyes…and the sadness may last for a moment…but the first things, the old things, the tests, trials and hardships are all gone. There is no need for a house…we will have Him! I want to spend all my time at the throne! The King of glory. Jesus Christ, Savior, Redeemer, Friend, God! No more asking “where are you God?” He is there…actually, he is here…now. Wanting to wipe away the tears even now.