‘Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted’ (Matthew 5:4).
How do you picture the happiest person in the world? Perhaps you imagine a constant smile, delight in life, joy seeking an outlet, irrepressible initiative continually inventing something, and an inexplicable love flowing in waves from that person’s presence. You are picturing it correctly. All of this will be part of life in Heaven. But what does a happy person look like in our time? I think our ideas about Eternity and our earthly reality will differ noticeably from one another. Sometimes the deep, visible expression of happiness can be discerned only by those who come into close contact with a blessed person and understand that he has a very solid foundation, strong walls, and firm principles, while also being very kind in conversation and gentle in his treatment of others. Happy people do no harm to those around them; instead, they bring a little piece of Heaven into our lives.
Even if you become the happiest person in the world and the sun of joy shines constantly in your heart and home, always remember that the world around us was not made for such people. A world in which innocent people lose their lives, children become ill and die, selfishness, malice, envy, and pride rule human hearts, and sin reigns will never be home to happy and redeemed people. We are surrounded on every side by grief, pain, and suffering. Living amid these things, we experience their influence, struggle, search, and find something better.
And that something better is the Kingdom of Heaven within us—a Kingdom whose King is Jesus.
As we live in this perishable world by faith in God and His salvation, we come under special protection and learn to walk a better path governed by better laws. This lifts us above the world and its vanity. Yet the cares of life weigh us down, constant spiritual strain wearies us, age wears away our strength, and the effects of our battles make themselves felt.
No matter how strong and steadfast we may be in faith, God sometimes allows tears into our lives: tears of joy, tears of sorrow, tears of suffering, tears that come from recognizing our weakness and helplessness, tears of tender emotion, and simply tears brought by a sense of God’s special presence.
It is impossible to live amid this unceasing struggle and never weep. Through such tears shed by His beloved children, our loving Lord gives them special comfort. Their tears carry away the inward strain, and peace comes. God wipes away our tears and weeps with us, knowing how hard life can be for us. His sufferings for us are as much greater than ours as He is greater than we are. And He is to us as a loving Father.
When all the redeemed stand before the great I AM, tears of joy and gratitude will flow down their cheeks. On their radiant faces, their tears and memories of past battles, victories, sorrows, and privations will testify that they know the price of their salvation and will carry that knowledge throughout Eternity.
When the redeemed look around, hoping to see those whom they loved—the faces of those for whom they prayed and those to whom they bore witness of Eternal Love—and do not find them among the saved, tears of indescribable grief will flow from their eyes. The Lord will comfort them and wipe away every tear. There will be no more weeping, sorrow, or crying. Each person made his own choice and received what he chose.
And God will be their God.
Blessed are those who mourn in the Lord.
But do not become absorbed in this blessedness. Let it be the exception rather than the constant rule.
I know a sister who believed that it was her duty before God to cry every day over anything at all. I spoke with her and persuaded her that this was not right, and now she rejoices and smiles at all times.
If I weep often, especially in public, I will not be able to convince others that this is the path to happiness. Let my tears be a welcome and long-awaited comfort to me rather than a way of life. This is something intimate between my Savior and me. It is something that belongs only to my Lord and me.
At times I have had special spiritual experiences when something extraordinary touched me and tears flowed down my cheeks. They were not tears of joy, delight, pain, or suffering. Instead, it felt as though an extremely heavy burden that had constantly oppressed me was being lifted, and my heart became very light and clean. In these rare experiences, I understood how beneficial it can sometimes be to weep simply to release the inward strain under which my whole life passes. Yet I cannot make myself cry, nor do I know how. It has always interested me to see how easily women can do this, and in this they have an emotional advantage. Sometimes I even pray that God will give me tears and lead me into a state of mourning so that through it I may lay down the burden of cares and anxieties that, one way or another, clings to my heart. When this happens, such blessedness and peace with God come over my soul. At such a time, I want to tell God everything so that He will take it all away. Such gratitude for God’s care and mercy then arises, along with such joy over a clean heart, that my lips praise God of their own accord and sing a song of victory.
But we should not bring a material called ‘I weep’ into our little house of happiness. It is not so much a brick of happiness as a cleansing agent that should sometimes be used on the interior to give the whole structure a special brilliance and purity. We greatly need this cleansing agent during earthly life, and it will serve us once more at the very beginning of Eternity, helping us endure the pain of losing forever those whom we loved, for whom we prayed, and with whom our lives and destinies were intertwined—those who could have been with us in Eternity but did not want to be, or who were deceived and did not see the light. At Christ’s Second Coming, when all the righteous are raised, I will search with my eyes for the earthly soul closest to me. If I do not find that face among the redeemed, indescribable pain will pierce my heart and tears of utter despair will pour from my eyes. The sorrow will be so bitter. I will see that I am not alone—that every redeemed person will fail to meet someone and will discover someone missing. Our joy will turn to bitter sobbing. We will all weep for the last time as we bid farewell forever to everyone who rejected salvation. Jesus Himself and all the good angels will weep with us over those whom they loved so deeply and for whom they did everything possible, yet whom they could not compel to accept salvation. How painful it will be for all of us to realize that these souls will never receive what God gives in Jesus.
But this weeping too will subside, and the Lord will wipe away every tear. Jesus will speak kind words of comfort, encouragement, and joy to us. Once again, the full power of Heaven’s triumph will descend upon all the redeemed, never to leave them again. A song of glory and praise to our Savior will flow naturally from the pure lips of the righteous and will never fall silent throughout all Eternity.
Then with our own eyes we will see and understand what it means that God is Love. This will be the most beautiful reality, continually delighting us through its endless discoveries and revelations. There will be no more death or sorrow.
Bible verses for this chapter:
Matthew 5:4; Luke 6:21; 7:12–13, 37–38; Romans 12:14; 1 Corinthians 7:29–31; Isaiah 38:2–6; Psalm 30:5; 42:3; 56:8; 84:6; 126:6; Ecclesiastes 7:2–4; John 11:35; Luke 19:41; Isaiah 25:8; Revelation 21:4