Weep With Those Who Weep

There are seasons in my life when I particularly appreciate the Scripture that says God will wipe away every tear. Sometimes I think those tears are the tears of regret as we realize, standing before God, all that we could have done or said that would have honored Him. Sometimes I think they are tears of joy in seeing God as He is and knowing He loves us completely, just as He said. Sometimes I think they are lingering tears of sadness over all the losses we experienced in this life. Certainly at the heart of this passage is the promise that there will be no more tears.

This week I have found tears falling on more than one occasion. The tears certainly involved the awareness of the loss of lives and property in Southern California due to the wildfires. But the tears got much closer to home when our daughter and her husband discovered that the baby they had only recently discovered was growing in the womb, had stopped growing. Our grown daughter and her husband, looking forward to the joy and challenge of parenting, were now deeply feeling the grief and loss.

I don't have all the answers when these events occur, but I know that part of the answer is that we live in a world that is still groaning to be re-made because of sin. I know part of the answer is that even from the start, mankind is limited. Fragile. I know part of the answer is that even in this God can be honored in spite of our unanswered questions. I also know part of the answer is found in Paul's second letter to the Christians at Corinth. He says,

3 All praise to the God and Father of our Master, Jesus the Messiah! Father of all mercy! God of all healing counsel! 4 He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, he brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us. 5 We have plenty of hard times that come from following the Messiah, but no more so than the good times of his healing comfort—we get a full measure of that, too.

Already my daughter and her husband have found others who have experienced this deep loss. As my wife put it, they have joined a group that no one wants to be part of. But in that group they are finding comfort, encouragement, mutual support and people who know what they are going through. In that group, God is there alongside them. After all, He also knows what it is like to lose a child.