4:147 – Tears Are A Gift

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Real men don’t cry. Suck it up. It’s not that bad. These are things that are said when people cry. I have been sad but unable to cry. I don’t pride myself that I have only cried a couple of times in my memory. Sure, I get sad, but sometimes the tears don’t come. While we have sad tears, we also have happy tears. Tears of joy and thankfulness. These are the tears that we want to have.

When I think of crying, it’s like a release of emotions. Why do we try to hold them back? Why do we think people are strong if they don’t cry and weak if they do? What is wrong with us as a society that we try to bottle up real emotions?

The word tears is mentioned 36 times in the Bible. We see joy, pain, passion, love, and so much more expressed through a single tear. Heck, one of the shorted verses in the bible, depending on translation, is John 11:35, Jesus Wept. He was overcome with emotion when we sad the extreme sadness of the people around him. if Jesus could cry, why don’t we?

Today’s Questions: What makes you cry? Do you try to hide your tears from others? What do you do when you feel the need to cry but can’t?

Scripture

• Jeremiah 31:9 – Tears of joy will stream down their faces, and I will lead them home with great care. They will walk beside quiet streams and on smooth paths where they will not stumble. For I am Israel’s father, and Ephraim is my oldest child. 
• Revelation 21:4 – He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.
• Isaiah 25:8 – He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken.

Reflection

When my father passed, I couldn’t cry. I felt that if I did, I would feel much better. It wasn’t until after the funeral, back at the hotel, when I replayed my brother playing, “It’s a wonderful world” by Luis Armstrong, and lost it. I’m listening to it right now and I feel them welling up, but don’t know if they will come.

Throughout the bible, we see tears of joy and tears of sadness. In Isaiah and confirmed in Revelation, we see that at the end of days, Jesus will wipe away every tear and there will be no more death, no more mourning, no pain, or crying. I imagine that day and almost wept with tears of joy. Until that day comes, I am going to try to embrace my tears and my sadness. If we look at these as gifts from God, a way for our pain to pour out, then we may see it as a blessing and not a sign of weakness.

Tonight, I know the tears are there, I’m waiting for them to come. I will not push them away.

As we close, remember to love those around you. You never know if they are near tears or near joy. Either way, you can be their rock and strength.

Prayer

Father God, help us cry when we need to cry. Be it sadness or joy, let us live in and explore the emotions you created in us. Let us not be afraid of what others think of us. We love you Lord and know you gave us these emotions to fully explore the world that you gave us. We pray for comfort, love, and peace. In your name, Amen.