eDevotion
Encouragement for your daily walk with God
I remember walking through a Jerusalem antiquity store in 2008. I wanted to buy something to remind me of my trip, as well as to have an object lesson for future sermons. In the end, I purchased an ancient oil lamp, which pre-dated Herod the Great [pre-65 BC]. As I was looking at all the items available to purchase, I saw a beautiful, translucent, bluish miniature urn. It was small, but also an intriguing piece, so I asked the dealer what it was. He said, “That is a Roman ‘tear bottle’.
“Really,” I responded, “a tear bottle? I’ve never heard of that before.”
He went on to tell how the Romans believed that the tears they collected at the passing of a loved one would be recorded in heaven. After hearing that, I wanted to buy the bottle, that is, until he told me its price! [That’s why I got the lamp!]
To be very honest though, I had heard of tears being collected, but not by the Romans. What I knew of the collection of tears came from the writing of the Psalmist who, speaking about God, wrote, “You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book” [Psalm 56:8 - New Living Translation].
The thought of God collecting the tears of our sorrow has been a real comfort to me this week because I’ve shed quite a few of them at the death of my good friend, Gary Plueger. But what brings me even more comfort is my faith that he is in a place of wholeness once again.
I plan to join Gary in that place some day. It’s called heaven. And you know what else, everyone who lives there will never have to tear up again!
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will no longer exist; grief, crying, and pain will exist no longer, because the previous things have passed away. Revelation 21:4 - The Holman Christian Standard Bible
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