Divinely Soluble

“and He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes;” Revelation 21:4

Wipe Away – There are some things that only God can rub off.  Let that thought sit with you for a minute.

When you think about heaven, what do you most look forward to?  Is it the dwelling place in the mansion?  Is it the streets of gold?  Is it fellowship with those now departed?  Is it the presence of the Savior?

These days I am anxious to have the tears wiped away.  Life in this place, the life of an alien resident, is constantly interlaced with pain.  I have a hard time remembering a day when there wasn’t a heartache tucked into the corner somewhere.  I don’t recollect the last time that I didn’t hurt someplace.  I can’t recall a day when I didn’t encounter agony over a brother or sister lost in the dark, or a death too soon, or a life in turmoil.  Life is the gristmill, slowly crushing us in its inevitable path to nowhere new.  Round and round we go, collecting distractions and carefully crafted anesthetics in order to endure the wait.  Yes, these days I look forward to no more tears.

Exaleipho is a word of hope.  God will wipe away the years of sorrow.  I am in desperate need of His gentle touch.  Ex, the Greek for “out” or “off” is important to me.  God will take off the tears but He will also take out the pain.  I’m glad that the word is aleipho and not chriso.  Both mean “to smear, to anoint, to rub on”, but aleipho is a word used for all the “rub on’s” of ordinary life while chriso is only for ceremonial and religious actions.  What a disappointment it would be if God only removed my religious tears, the ones I cried over sin.  No, God is going to take it all away.  The grief, the physical pain, the brokenhearted cries, the frustration, the discouragement.  Heaven won’t be like anything I have ever known.  How could it be?  A soldier on the battlefield can only imagine R&R while the bullets fly and the shrapnel sings.

Are you like me?  Are there tears just behind that smile?  Are there secret agonies hidden among the routines?  If you took away the mask, would blood and water flow freely?

There is only one common bond between us all.  I am alone in this broken world unless I find someone else who knows the scars I carry.  That’s why I need a God who knows my pain, and a God who can deal with it.  God assures me that all my sorrow is divinely soluble.  I believe Him.  I need my ordinary life rubbed off.  But for now, I must wait.  And hope!