There will be times of tears in our lives. Ecclesiastes 3:4 says, “A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance” (cp. Psalm 30:5). After Jesus had been crucified there were many tears shed. Mary Magdalene was in tears, not only because of the death of her Lord but because she thought that someone stole His body. The risen Lord then came to Mary and asked, “Woman, why weepest thou?” (John 20:15). But she did not need to cry, for she had a risen Lord. Many tears will come into one’s life, but there are several reasons why the Christian have cause to rejoice.
First, Jesus has risen from the dead. This simple fact establishes the beginning of the Christian faith (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). None of us could partake of the wonderment of being a Christian had Jesus failed to rise from the grave.
Second, your sins are forgiven. Colossians 1:14 tells us that in Christ Jesus we have our sins forgiven. All of us would have been without hope had the Lord not died on the cross. It was His blood that purchased the church and forgave us our sins.
Third, you are God’s child. In one sense, all of God’s human creation is “children.” But Christians bear a special relationship (1 John 3:1-2). That relationship, gained by the obedience of faith, calls us to a closeness that no other human possesses.
Fourth, God loves you. God proved this love by the sacrifice of His Son (John 3:16). Furthermore, we are promised that nothing will separate us from God’s love (Romans 8:35-39).
Fifth, Jesus is coming again. At His ascension, the angels said, “… this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.” First Thessalonians 4:18 adds that Christians will “meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”
Therefore, let us “comfort one another with these words” and always be thankful that we have reason to weep not.
Kyle Campbell
