Our tears may be one of our most valuable possessions. Let me explain.
The psalmist wrote "Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy. He who continually goes forth weeping, bearing seed for sowing, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him." (Psalm 126:5-6). While reading this passage I began to consider the idea of tears being like seed- when sown they have the capacity to produce great joy.
One tomato seed can become a plant that produces 20#'s of tomatoes. An apple seed may become a tree that produces many bushels of apples for generations. One peach pit can become a tree that bears 3 bushels of peaches each year. One thing I have noticed about seeds. Most of them are very plain, even ugly and yet they produce beautiful fruit. Our heartaches, our sorrows are like those seeds, not pretty, but full of great potential.
It may have been Charles Spurgeon who wrote that tears are liquid prayers. David once prayed: "You number my wanderings; Put my tears in Your bottle; are they not in Your book?" (Psalm 56:8). David knew his tears were of great value and that his Father took notice of every one of them, even collecting them in a bottle for some future purpose. To us tears seem insignificant. They fall from our eyes, drip down our cheeks, and then to our clothes only to be absorbed and evaporate. Or maybe they fall into the dust of the thirsty ground, lost forever. Not so! God collects them for us until we know what to do with them.
Jesus proclaimed of Himself, "He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted" (Luke 4:18). Another portion of the same ancient prophecy promises: "...To give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;" (Isaiah 61:3). The spiritual principle presented here is one of exchange. For one thing we shall have another. Thus it is of our tears.
Jesus once said: "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain" (John 12:24). This he said of Himself but it also remains true for us and for our tears. Have you sown yours or have you clung to them? I once read of wheat seeds discovered in the tomb of an ancient Egyptian -hundreds, perhaps thousands of years old. When they were planted in the right environment they germinated and produced wheat. But to bear fruit they must be sown. Its never too late to sow your tears. Latent inside of them is a harvest greater than your imagination contains. For them we shall have a great harvest of joy. But how? Give your tears to Jesus. He will turn them into joy unspeakable. Your tears are seed that when sown shall without a doubt produce an abundant harvest of joy.