8. IN HEAVEN, YOU WILL NEVER SHED A TEAR.
Hardly a week goes by in which there is not some sadness mixed with our blessings. We face heartaches, and sometimes heartbreaks, far more frequently than we would like to. Often this might cause us to shed tears. All of us cry for some reason or another. There is really no such thing as being too manly to cry, even though some might tell you otherwise. Jesus was the greatest man who ever lived, and He cried (cf. John 11:35). But, did you know that in heaven you'll never have to wipe any tears off your face? Why not? Because you'll never cry in heaven! Revelation 21:4 teaches us that God will wipe away all of our tears in heaven. This does not mean that we will cry in heaven and He will comfort us. We know this to be the case since this same verse declares that there will be no suffering and no crying in the heavenly abode. Tears result from suffering. If there is no suffering, it follows that there will be no tears! God will wipe our tears away in the sense that He will not allow anything to happen in heaven that would ever cause us to shed a tear or cry. Won't that be grand? On Earth there will always be a time and a place for the shedding of tears, but not in heaven. Don't you want to go there?
Dear Christian friends, I've got one question: Don't you want to go home? I'm not talking about your house or your place of residence in this world. I'm talking about your true home, heaven. Remember that we're just pilgrims passing through this realm (cf. I Pet. 1:1). We must desire to go home to be with our Father. We need to think about heaven everyday! If we fail to do this, we may forget what's really important and end up wasting our lives away on things that really don't matter. Let us focus on the goal--heaven! And let us continually be reminded of our goal by the things we do on a daily basis that we will never have to do in the great life beyond!
Before we close this series of lessons, there is one more very important matter we must all consider. Revelation 21:7,8 states - "He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murders, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death."
You see, the Bible teaches that not everyone will go to heaven--those who do not overcome sin will suffer eternally in hell! It is sad to say that some people will not do anything in heaven because they won't be there. It is my hope and prayer that you'll be there someday. If you've overcome sin through the blood of Jesus Christ and if you are living faithfully to God as the Bible sets forth, then you will be there! That is not a promise of mine; it is a promise of God! And God always keeps His promises (cf. Rev. 2:10; Titus 1:2)!
Have you overcome sin by having Jesus' blood cleanse you? If you haven't, then what are you waiting for? The Bible is clear that you must be baptized into Christ in order for His blood to wash your sins away (cf. Rev. 1:5; Acts 2:38). If you really believe that Jesus is the Son of God and you want to live a righteous life according to the New Testament, then there is no reason why you should not be immersed for the forgiveness of your sins today! There is no other way to be cleansed of sin; there is no other way to get to heaven than through God's grace and our faithful obedience to His gospel. If we can be of service to you in any way or answer any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.
We will conclude this series in our next lesson.