{"id":849,"date":"2009-08-13T04:01:13","date_gmt":"2009-08-13T04:01:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/markdroberts\/2009\/08\/god-will-wipe-away-our-tears-implications-section-6.html"},"modified":"2009-08-13T04:01:13","modified_gmt":"2009-08-13T04:01:13","slug":"god-will-wipe-away-our-tears-implications-section-6","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2009\/08\/god-will-wipe-away-our-tears-implications-section-6.html","title":{"rendered":"God Will Wipe Away Our Tears: Implications (Section 6)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Part 6 of series: God Will Wipe Away Our Tears: Grief and the Christian Life
\n<\/em>Permalink for this post<\/a> \/ Permalink for this series<\/a>
\nSo far in this series I have been reflecting on some implications of the fact that, in the new creation, God will wipe away our tears. I have been asking and seeking to answer three questions:<\/p>\n

1. What does this reveal about life?
\n2. What does this reveal about how we\u2019re to live in the meanwhile?
\n3. What does this reveal about God?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I\u2019ve dealt with questions 1 and 2 above. Now it\u2019s time for question 3.
\n3. What does this [the fact that God will wipe away our tears as his first action in the new creation] tell us about God? <\/strong>
\nTo begin, the fact that God will someday wipe away our tears means that God lets the tears remain for now. Although God comforts us at times, sometimes in profound and downright miraculous ways, we live with suffering and pain. Crying is a normal part of our existence in this age, and God is allowing it to go on.
\nWhen we\u2019re talking about the tears that come from relatively minor, temporary suffering, the reality of human tears is not terrible problematic. But when the suffering is great and long, we can ache for the new creation. Moreover, we can feel frustrated, perplexed, and angry with God for allowing people to experience so much pain. It seems sometimes like a loving God would do a whole lot more tear wiping in this age, rather than holding back so much until the age to come.
\nGod\u2019s willingness to allow us to suffer is even more perplexing when we meditate on the fact that he will wipe away every tear from every eye. Notice, God will wipe away<\/em> each tear. He will not blow them away with a mighty wind. Or evaporate them with a roaring fire. Or obliterate them with a snap of his fingers. God will not condemn our tears. He will not rebuke with the parental favorite: \u201cStop you\u2019re crying, you baby!\u201d Rather, God will wipe away each tear. It\u2019s hard to imagine a more tender image. Wiping away tears is an intimate gesture. It\u2019s the sort of thing a mother does with her own children.
\nMoreover, if you\u2019ve ever wiped away someone\u2019s tears, you know that it\u2019s impossible to do this without a measure of sympathy. The one who wipes the tears doesn\u2019t stand far off at an emotionally safe distance. Rather, the tear wiper draws near, gently touching and comforting the one who weeps, and often feeling some of the weeper\u2019s pain. The fact that God will wipe away our tears reminds us of God\u2019s gracious, loving presence in our lives, even and especially in our pain.
\nOf course this is nothing new. The Incarnation of the Word of God demonstrates powerfully the presence of God in our lives, including our suffering. As it says in Hebrews 2:17-18:<\/p>\n

Therefore [Jesus] had to become like his brothers and sisters in every respect, so that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself was tested by what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In the Gospels we find one story in which Jesus himself wept. It comes in John 11, in the context of the death of Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha of Bethany, and a friend of Jesus. We read:<\/p>\n

When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, \u201cLord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.\u201d When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. He said, \u201cWhere have you laid him?\u201d They said to him, \u201cLord, come and see.\u201d Jesus began to weep. (John 11:32-35)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The text does not tell us why Jesus wept. The phrase, \u201cgreatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved\u201d may well indicate anger rather than sadness. There is an extensive scholarly debate about this. This possibility, along with our cultural discomfort with tears, has given rise to the suggestion that Jesus wept over the unbelief of the people. Yet this is hard to find in the text unless one reads it into the text. It seems more likely that Jesus wept out of a sense of compassion for those who were grieving, an example of weeping with those who weep. It\u2019s possible that Jesus was also grieving over the brokenness of this world, a fact represented by death and tears. (Photo: Giotto, ” Raising of Lazarus,” 1304-1306 AD).
\nAlthough literal tears do not show up in the telling of the story of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, we do find a powerful example of Jesus feeling grief. Here how Mark puts it:<\/p>\n

They went to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, \u201cSit here while I pray.\u201d He took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be distressed and agitated. And said to them, \u201cI am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and keep awake\u201d (Mark 14:32-35).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Jesus\u2019 suffering was not only an aspect of his Incarnation. It was also an essential component of his redeeming work as the Servant of God. This Servant was revealed through the prophet Isaiah to be a suffering servant, one whose suffering lead to healing for others:<\/p>\n

He was despised and rejected by others;
\na man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity;
\nand as one from whom others hide their faces
\nhe was despised, and we held him of no account.
\nSurely he has borne our infirmities
\nand carried our diseases;
\nyet we accounted him stricken,
\nstruck down by God, and afflicted.
\nBut he was wounded for our transgressions,
\ncrushed for our iniquities;
\nupon him was the punishment that made us whole,
\nand by his bruises we are healed. (Isa 53:3-5)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Of course not all Christians have been comfortable with the real suffering of Jesus. The Gnostic Christians of the early church embraced the heresy of a non-suffering Savior, who only appeared to suffer. This Gnostic tendency continues to thrive in some avenues of the orthodox church. Most notably, it appears in the beloved Christmas carol, \u201cAway in a Manger.\u201d You\u2019ll remember these lines from the second stanza: \u201cThe cattle are lowing, the Baby awakes, But little Lord Jesus, no crying he makes.\u201d It\u2019s hard to imagine any baby who, awakened by strange animal noises, does not cry, unless that baby is not quite human.
\nJesus, the ultimate revelation of God, both felt pain and wept. Yes, this reflected his being fully human as well as fully God. But it also underscored the fact that God cares about our suffering, even going so far as to share in it. The God who wipes away every tear is the same God who, in Psalm 56:8, keeps a record of our tossings and puts our tears in his bottle. This God does not stand far off, watching us \u201cfrom a distance,\u201d as the pop song once proclaimed. Rather, the Triune God draws near to us, comforting us tenderly and even joining in our sorrows.
\nYet the time will come when God\u2019s triumph will be complete. In that day, God will first wipe away every tear from every face. Then, \u201cmourning and crying and pain will be no more\u201d (Rev. 21:4). With this hope we live today, grieving differently, weeping with those who weep, encouraging one another with the truth of the Gospel.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Part 6 of series: God Will Wipe Away Our Tears: Grief and the Christian Life Permalink for this post \/ Permalink for this series So far in this series I have been reflecting on some implications of the fact that, in the new creation, God will wipe away our tears. I have been asking and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":214,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[79],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-849","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-grief-and-christian-life"],"yoast_head":"\nGod Will Wipe Away Our Tears: Implications (Section 6) - Mark D. 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Roberts","description":"Mark D. Roberts: Thoughtfully Christian Reflections on Jesus, the Church, and the World","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/1ff094a57b7e41f534434b1723df3d73","name":"Mark D. Roberts","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","caption":"Mark D. Roberts"},"description":"The Rev. Dr. Mark D. Roberts is a pastor, author, retreat leader, speaker, and blogger. Since October 2007 he has been the Senior Director and Scholar-in-Residence for Laity Lodge, a multifaceted ministry in the Hill Country of Texas. Before coming to Laity Lodge, he was for sixteen years the Senior Pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church in Irvine, California (a city in Orange County about forty miles south of Los Angeles). Before his time at Irvine Pres, Mark served on the staff of the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood as Associate Pastor of Education. (Thanks to Janel Pahl for taking the photo to the right.) Mark studied at Harvard University, receiving a B.A. in Philosophy, an M.A. in the Study of Religion, and a Ph.D. in New Testament and Christian Origins. He has taught classes in New Testament for Fuller Theological Seminary and San Francisco Theological Seminary. Mark has written several books, including No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer (WaterBrook, 2005), Dare to Be True (WaterBrook, 2003), Jesus Revealed (WaterBrook, 2002), After \"I Believe\" (Baker, 2002), and Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther (Word, 1993). His most recent book is Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (Crossway, 2007). He is currently working on a commentary on Ephesians that will be published by Zondervan in 2014. Mark writes a devotional for The High Calling of Our Daily Work, a website associated with Laity Lodge. His \"Daily Reflections\" can be viewed online or sent as a daily email. If you wish to receive this email, just visit TheHighCalling.org and sign up. Mark serves on the editorial board of Worship Leader magazine, where he publishes articles and reviews, including his regular column \"Lyrical Poetry.\" Additionally, he has published dozens of articles in leading magazines and journals. He often speaks for churches and other Christian groups, and has been interviewed on over seventy-five radio programs nationwide. Mark is married to Linda, who is a Marriage and Family Therapist, a Spiritual Director, and a retreat speaker. They have two children, Nathan and Kara.For Publicity Photos and Bio Statements for Mark, please check here. Mark's Dossier Professional History: Senior Director and Scholar-in Residence, Laity Lodge, October 2007 to present. Senior Pastor Irvine Presbyterian Church, June 1991 to September 2007 Adjunct Assistant Professor Fuller Theological Seminary, 1994 to 2007. Courses: New Testament Theology and Exegesis. Adjunct Instructor San Francisco Theological Seminary, 1995 to 2001. Courses: New Testament Greek and Exegesis Associate Pastor of Education First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, 1987-1991 Teaching Fellow Harvard University, 1980-1983 Education: Ph.D. in the Study of Religion. Harvard University, 1992. Area: New Testament and Christian Origins M.A. in the Study of Religion Harvard University, 1984. A.B. magna cum laude in Philosophy Harvard University, 1979. Phi Beta Kappa; Danforth Fellowship Books: Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Crossway, 2007 No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer. WaterBrook, 2005 Dare to Be True: Living in the Freedom of Complete Honesty. WaterBrook, 2003. Jesus Revealed: Know Him Better to Love Him Better. WaterBrook, 2002. After \"I Believe\": Experiencing Authentic Christian Living. Baker, 2002. Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther in the Communicator's Commentary Series. Word, 1993. Contacting Mark: You can reach Mark at: E-mail: mark@markdroberts.com mroberts@laitylodge.org Phone: Laity Lodge: (830) 792-1216 Address: Laity Lodge 719 Earl Garrett Kerrville, TX 78028","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/author\/mroberts"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/849","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/214"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=849"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/849\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=849"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=849"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=849"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}