Tears – by Greg Albrecht
Friend and Partner Letter from August 2025:
“Laugh, and the world laughs with you; Weep, and you weep alone.” – Solitude by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Tears are an essential “ingredient” in what it means to be human. We cry when we lose a loved one, when our children and grandchildren do well (and when they don’t), when we listen to a song, when we watch a movie and when memories bounce off the walls of our minds. Tears are caused by pleasure and pain, by “good” memories and “bad” ones.
David cried tears of emotional pain and loss over his rebellious and hateful son Absolom. Abraham cried tears of grief and loss over the death of Sarah, his beloved. When the rooster crowed as the sun rose, after denying Jesus three times in the night before the crucifixion, as Jesus told him he would, Peter “wept bitterly” with tears of regret (Luke 22:62).
Standing in front of Lazarus’ tomb Jesus wept (John 11:35) tears of sympathy with the mourning of friends and family, and because of their inability to believe that he truly was “the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25). He knew in a few moments he would bring Lazarus back to life and the grief and sorrow of friends and family would be turned to joy and laughter. He wept out of compassion for the human condition, and how tenuous is our grip on physical and spiritual life.
Apart from the tears all mankind experiences, tears are also present in our life in Christ as we follow him. We experience tears of joy in our new life in Christ as we give thanks for our loving heavenly Father revealed to us in Jesus, rather than the corrupt, false picture of God as a God of vengeance and wrath. We weep tears of joy because our heavenly Father is gracious, merciful and filled with steadfast love.
Crying and laughter are both reactions resulting from increased emotion, but while laughter can be heard here and there during our earthly sojourn, tears are far more frequent. Try as we might, there are times when we are not able to hold back tears. Tears are not, as some believe, a sign of spiritual weakness – neither are they a sign that we lack spiritual courage and faith.
Tears are a sign that we are human, God’s very own children, confused, frustrated and in physical and spiritual pain as we endure the storms and struggles of life. Tears are a release valve for stress, anxiety and depression.
Infants cry all the time, anywhere and everywhere. In fact, the cries of a baby just after he/she is born is a sign they are alive. When infants cry at birth their efforts open their lungs and starts the process of breathing. They receive the breath of life.
When I think of babies crying, I recall the initial lyrics of the beautiful song, I Believe, by Frankie Laine, first recorded in 1953:
I believe for every drop of rain that falls
A flower grows
Then, later in this inspirational song lyrics that still brings tears to my eyes:
Every time I hear a newborn baby cry Or touch a leaf, or see the sky
Then I know why I believe.
While infants normally (hopefully) cry in the company of others, for adults crying is often a solitary experience. Tears of loneliness increase when our physical bodies deteriorate, we endure losses of mobility, we lose family and friends to death, and the life we once knew is in the past. Aging brings tears of regret as the world we once knew shrinks and disappears.
While a tear is basically composed of water and salt, and a few other chemicals that serve to lubricate our eyes, far more important than being just a biological event, tears are spiritually and emotionally significant. Tears give evidence of the deepest longing of the heart and soul.
Rivers of tears have flowed since the beginning of human history. Tears are a sign of broken hearts, shattered lives and forsaken hopes. Tears are a sign of grief and sorrow as we face the reality of death and the grave – yet in such cases Paul assures Christ-followers we need not “grieve like the rest of mankind who have no hope” (1 Thessalonians 4:13).
In the face of tears, sorrow and tragedy we believe that in his resurrection Jesus conquered death and the grave—we believe that our risen Lord Jesus is alive, and will return again to this earth, and then we will rise from our graves. This is our hope, even in the midst of tears.
Tears can blur our spiritual vision, and cause us to lose sight of Jesus, who as our risen Lord, has overcome death and the grave. Just as they cloud our physical vision, tears can cause us to lose sight of Jesus. Tears can cause our belief in Jesus to be diminished.
“I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die…” (John 11:25, my emphasis).
Yet, even as death happens to us all, and even as loss, grief, pain and suffering are experienced by everyone, even though we cry and shed tears, we do not “grieve like the rest of mankind who have no hope.” Our hope is summarized by a grand, majestic passage in which the new heavens and new earth are described.
“And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Look, God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (Revelation 21: 3-4, my emphasis). This is our hope – this is God’s promise in which we believe.
Let us focus on this Christ-centered hope, on this promise of God’s presence and peace, our belief, our ever-present comfort and hope:
- No more hurt and pain
- No more grief and loss, or fear of grief and loss
- No more worry – no more hate – no more war
- No more aging
- No more hospitals or senior citizen’s homes
- No more homeless people self-medicating themselves with drugs
- No more loneliness
- No more bad news
- No more funerals to attend
- No more doctor’s visits
- No more cancer or disease.
Now, on this side of eternity, as we continue to live in our bodies of flesh, we still live in this world, with all the things that will one day pass away, with the “old order of things” including sorrow, pain, loss, death, anxiety, tears and crying (Revelation 21:4).
With Paul, “we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. For we live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:6-8).
I am reminded of a pastor who was at the bedside of a dear friend who was on his death bed. “Pastor,” said the man in a barely audible voice, “I know I’m going to die, but I am not afraid. I know that I am going to be with the Lord, and that I shall be with him forever and ever.” He paused, for his emotions were getting the better of him and tears began running down his cheeks. The pastor took out some Kleenex and started to wipe away the man’s tears. “Thank you, Pastor. The next time tears are wiped away from my eyes, my heavenly Father himself will do it.”
Dear Friends and Partners of CWR/PTM, whether you grieving a loss and dealing with the aftermath of suffering and pain, whether you are now in the midst of a storm, whether storm clouds are on your horizon, know that Jesus has been, is now and always will be with you in the midst of the pain, suffering, loss, grief and struggles of life. In the midst of our tears, We Believe!
Finally, by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the peace of God we know as we rest in Jesus, I pray this prayer for you, as the Apostle Paul expressed to his friends and partners, to those to whom he ministered and pastored in Thessalonica:
May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you (1 Thessalonians 3:12).
Your brother in Christ,
Greg Albrecht
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