Use Your Keys: Finding Purpose in LifeSample

Tears

Do you want to see something scary? There’s a verse in the Bible that is generally perceived as good. It is actually good in a way, but I don’t think we fully grasp the meaning behind it. The verse is Revelation 21:4. It's the popular passage about Jesus wiping every tear from our eyes.

This passage is talking about judgment day, specifically the Great White Throne Judgment. Please note that this is not the judgment believers will face. If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you will appear instead before the bema seat where you will be rewarded for your faith. These verses are describing how the people whose names were not written in the Book of Life, which means they did not accept Jesus as the Messiah, are cast to hell and thrown into the lake of fire.

Immediately after that description, we are told God will wipe away every tear. I believe this means we will be there watching. We will be there weeping. We will be mourning for our loved ones and crying for those who missed it. The scariest part for me is to think that I will literally be sobbing, knowing that I could have done something. We will all see people we could have spoken to. We will see people we could have shared the keys with. We will know that we didn’t get to them in time. We didn’t reach them. We didn’t prioritize their eternity over our earthy struggles. The torment, suffering, and pain on that day will be almost unbearable. I am certain it will be beyond any suffering we could face while on this earth.

I believe the tears spoken about in Revelation that Jesus will wipe away are those tears.

Somehow, He will give us knowledge of why and allow us to understand His perfect love and perfect justice, so it all makes sense. But we will have those tears because we will see how we missed it. I don’t know about you, but even though He promises to wipe those tears away, I don’t want them. It is important to note that some pain and some tears are inevitable no matter how hard we try because, as we all know, we can’t force people out the door once it’s open. I don’t want to be standing there completely devastated by the number of people I could have reached if I had only spent more time trying. I don’t want to stand there knowing that my own desires to be successful, to have a nice family, or to show others how great I am got in the way.

Life is not about being rich, famous, respected, liked, or comfortable. Life also isn’t a competition. It’s not about what everyone else is doing, how they are using their gifts, or how many people follow them on social media. I want to stand before God on that day and have faith that I did everything I could to reach those people. I want to trust that I gave it my all and sincerely tried my hardest. I want the tears that He has to wipe away to be minimal. I want to know that I didn’t waste every day and that I wasn’t distracted.

I can’t go back in time. I can’t make up for the days I’ve already missed, but I can start today making sure I don’t waste any more time–and so can you.