Rev. Frank Page was given a lachrymatory or “tear bottle” after leading a tour in Israel. It is part of a 3,000-year-old tradition where mourners would actually catch tears in a bottle and seal them. Sometimes these tear bottles were placed in the grave of a loved one who passed on. It was a tribute to the family or person to show both love and devotion on the part of those who mourn.
Page thinks this is a precious tradition. Scripture records numerous examples of people mourning one for another, including our Lord Himself. Our own experience reveals the deep friendship that comes when someone mourns with you over a loss in your life.
Psychological counselors distinguish between healthy versus unhealthy grief. Scripture encourages us to grieve, “not as those who have no hope,” but to grieve as those whose hope is firmly fixed in the second coming of Jesus. This is healthy grief.
Grief is real. Page’s own family is not a stranger to grief. Having lost a daughter, as well as other relatives, his family understands what it is to grieve at many levels. Someone once said that grief is like the waves on the seashore; it never stops. Gratefully it does decrease over time in both frequency and intensity, though it never completely ends.
It is encouraging that our Lord Himself knows our struggles and grieves with us. In the precious words of 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 our Lord is described as “the God of all comfort.” Isn’t that a precious and accurate description of our Lord? He comforts us in our times of trouble.
Psalm 46:1 teaches us that our God is “always found in times of trouble.” We all want a God who is ever present to help in our times of need. We do not want a part-time God, or a God who takes vacations, or a God who sleeps. We want a God who is with us and available at all time. Thankfully He is!
In relation to the tear bottle, look closely at Psalm 56:8. There the Scripture says, “You Yourself have recorded my wanderings. Put my tears in Your bottle. Are they not in Your records?” This is a precious reminder of God’s care and comfort. Just as ancient mourners would catch their tears in a literal bottle, our Lord knows every tear we cry. He is with us as we grieve at every moment.
Lean upon the Lord. While all human beings will disappoint at some point in time or in some way, our Lord is steadfast and ever present. He knows every emotion that we experience.