Tears wiped away

Revelation 21:3-4 (NLT)
3 I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”

This is part of the revelation given to the Apostle John of things to come. These words show the presence of God with His people. This is the promise God gave that those who have placed their faith in The Lord will be present with Him in heaven. All the former troubles of this world have been removed. Tears that once came from sin are wiped away and to be found no more. All the causes of any future sorrow have also been wiped away; gone forever.

 

 

Every other week I donate platelets to the Red Cross. I started donating faithfully after I got a call from the Red Cross asking if I knew why they said they desperately needed my blood. They then stated that my blood was absent of CMV antibodies. CMV stands for cytomegalovirus and is a virus present in about 80% of the population. The effects of CMV are rarely seen in normal, healthy people and so it is rarely mentioned by doctors. However the virus can cause devastating effects, including death for those with weak immune systems.  The Red Cross then told me they needed my blood for those immune compromised patients and that my blood had already saved 27 lives.

Donating blood platelets requires the use of an apheresis machine. The apheresis process is able to extract blood from the body and then separates the platelets, plasma and red cells. The machine they are currently using requires a needle in each arm - one arm to extract the blood and the other arm to return the red blood cells. The process for me takes just over an hour and during that time the arms have to remain motionless.

During the apheresis process when I gave this past weekend my eyes started watering. It was a miserable feeling as tears slowly made their way down my face and I was helpless to do anything. Finally I asked one of the workers if they would wipe away my tears for me and they did. The torture I was feeling immediately was gone and I could relax without thinking about those few slow dripping tears.

It made me realize something about the verses above. When God wipes away our tears He is providing comfort to a painful experience we never have to face again. Our sins will be removed and our life will be filled with joy. I also thought about how Jesus gave His blood for us that we could live. My blood has saved 27 lived, but the blood of Jesus has saved countless lives that will live an eternity in heaven. Let us all give thanks to God for the comfort and love He provides. Let us also praise Jesus who gave of His blood that we would live forever.