Tears In His Bottle
In wandering through the Kasbahs of North Africa and the Middle East, I have seen on display in numerous shops a variety of little, decorative, glass bottles. When I asked what they were used for, the shopkeepers explained they were “tear bottles”. From ancient times there is a practice of guarding the tears shed at the loss of a loved one. These tears are considered sacred, for they represent the sorrow of the family. At times these bottles were buried with the deceased, as were discovered in excavations of ancient tombs. Even during times of war, women would guard their tears in a bottle to show their husbands or sons, on their return, how much they were missed.
The use of tear bottles must have been common during the time of King David, as well, for we see him praying to the Lord to place his tears in His bottle and to register them all in His book, (Ps. 56.8). Tears are the language of grief. Tears are also the solution for grief. God made man so he could cry. Animals don’t shed tears, only mankind. It is a way to release grief and fear so that they don’t remain “bottled up” inside of us. Yet, these tears are important. Our tears are precious to God and He keeps them all in His bottle and writes them all down in His book.
We live in a fallen world and in this world there is so much sorrow. So many tears are being shed every day. Even Jesus cried at the death of his friend Lazarus. His tears, also, entered into that heavenly bottle. Jesus is not indifferent to suffering. He is constantly moved with compassion. He is our High Priest that identifies with our weaknesses, who has passed through our suffering and has been tempted in all ways, as we are. He comforts all who mourn, gives beauty instead of ashes, garments of praise instead of heaviness and gladness instead of mourning.
Marsha Stevens wrote a song some years ago entitled, “For Those Tears I Died,” The chorus goes like this:
For Jesus said, Come to the water, stand by my side.
I know you are thirsty, you won’t be denied.
I felt every teardrop, when in darkness you cried.
And I strove to remind you, that for those tears I died.
Just as your tears are not forgotten, the Lord wants you to know that He is preparing a place for you where there will no longer be any tears. It is where death is swallowed up in victory, where every tear is whipped away and where all former pain and suffering are no more. Though there remains pain and suffering here on earth, eternity has been birthed in our hearts. For those who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ, our hope and longing is for Heaven. Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning. (Psalms 30.5)
Scriptures to meditate on:
Psalms 56.8; 30.5; 116.8-9; John 11.35; Mal. 3.16; Is. 61.1-3; Heb. 4.15-16; Rev. 21.4