We cry for many reasons. We find our life’s companion, and we are ecstatic with happiness. We hear a funny joke, and we laugh until we think we will pop. Our first child is born, and our love runs deeper than we ever thought possible.
We also cry in time of sadness or desperation. Our father dies, and we soak tissues by the boxful. The family home burns, and the loss overwhelms us. Our money, saved for our son’s college, is gone in an investment scam.
Yet at the worst of times, we don’t have room to bemoan the losses of this life. We have something greater on the way. We have reason to cry tears of joy in the lowest moments of our lives.
Revelation 1:1-20 shows us Christ’s finest hour. We can leap with joy that his work will assuredly be complete in that day.
“The revelation of Jesus Christ… Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood...”
Colossians 3:1-4 lifts us above the things of this world, giving proof we will one day reign with him. How joyous is that?
“If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”
1 Corinthians 6:19 reveals our warranty deed, our proof that we are coveted by the Father. It’s time to dance with joy.
“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own.”
Acts 17:10-11 illustrates tears of frustration turning to tears of joy. Thessalonica was a time filled with despair, while Berea was a day of exultation.
“The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.”
John 4:24 exposes the core of our joy for the entire world to see.
“God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”
It would be silly to say that once we come to faith in Christ we will know only joy. We are still human, and the human condition is fraught with trouble. We will face death and loss until we are changed to be like our Savior. The difference for the Christian is that we have a promise that our Lord will turn our tears of sorrow into tears of joy in the final day of his return.
When we remember Jesus, our tears will become expressions of love toward him.
Copyright © 2015 MyChurchNotes.net
Code: FGO.D.13.15.vp.esv
Originally Published 6-18-15 in Hope.