“He lives to wipe away my tears” (Samuel Medley, “I Know That My Redeemer Lives”). Many of us would much rather have a Savior Who, rather than be there for us to wipe away our tears, would instead arrange things so that we never had a reason to shed any tears in the first place. But that is not the Savior's way. The impulse that leads us to want to obviate any need for repentance by demanding that Jesus save us in our sins rather than from our sins is the same impulse that leads us to sidestep any and all trials and adversity by having our Savior save us from our pains and afflictions rather than having the patience and humility to wait upon the Lord to save us in our pains and afflictions. Christ will not spare us from drinking the bitter cup that is placed before us, for He Himself was not spared when the cup was placed before Him. He knows what tears await us on our long and difficult road, but He knows also the glory and the surpassing joy that await us at the end. When we can no longer see the point of our suffering, when our vision of the brightness and glory that are set before us has become blurred with tears, our Savior Jesus Christ is there to wipe away our tears and give us back the perfect brightness of hope that comes from a vision of our eternal reward undimmed by mortal tears. We cannot see it now but we will understand in the end that having a friend who weeps with us and is there to wipe away our tears is far better than having an overzealous protector who never lets us cry because he never lets anything happen to us.
