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In the natural realm, tears provide the physical eyes with the means to be lubricated and cleansed from foreign materials that would others irritate or injure the eyes. Tears can also be the physiological response to psychological emotions. Although tears are over-all good for the eyes, tearing can result in temporary blurring of one’s vision and extra care must be exercised to avoid injuring ourselves.
In the spiritual realm, the Bible speaks of spiritual eyes in such passages as Psalms 119:18 NIV, “Open my eyes so that I may see the wonderful things in your law”.
If a person walks around with his eyelids down, the eyes are of no value even if he has 20/20 vision. Our spiritual eyes, that are symbolic of the ability to “see” what God is saying through his Word, are of no value if we don’t lift the lids (open the pages of the Bible) and use them as well.
Our spiritual eyes are also subject to tears. Our spiritual eyes can be irritated by exposing them to foreign matter (false doctrines) that can blur the immediate vision and threaten to cause extensive or permanent damage to the future use of the eyes.
If we rub our irritated natural eyes for relief of itching long enough, we will only aggravate the situation and cause even more damage. Rubbing the physical eye for temporary relief is analogous to trying to soothe the spiritual eyes (compromise our convictions) through rationalization or to solve our problems through human effort.
Human wisdom & effort may bring some temporary relief to a situation, but it will not cure the primary source of the problem and may even allow the symptoms to multiply and/or return with greater intensity (Matthew 12: 43-45).
Just as we are in distress and experience diminished vision whenever our eyes are filled with tears, there is never the less a divine purpose in all forms and instances of adversity.
Biblically speaking, tears are also symbolic of all forms of adversity. When we are in times of distress, trial, and or temptation, we must take care not to “trip & fall” when, due to the tears of adversity, our spiritual vision is somewhat blurred. It is in such times that we must “…live by faith, and not by sight” (2Cor. 5: 7 NIV).
In His timing and in His way, God will provide the “...salve to put on your eyes, so you can see” (Rev.3: 18 NIV).
Tears of irritation in our spiritual eyes are good, as they are the means to notify us that something is attempting to enter our eyes that doesn’t belong there.
Tears from straining our spiritual eyes are good, as they are indicators that we are trying to use human effort instead of divine power to “see” what we are doing.
Tears of emotion in spiritual eyes are good, as it reminds us of our humanity and of our frailty.
Finally, there is good news concerning the tears of our spiritual eyes. We are told that they day is coming when” The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces…” (Isa.25: 8 NIV).
There is a difference between being a “cry-baby” and a man who cries. A baby cries because it is the only means of communication that he has learned. It is not unmanly to weep; Jesus did (John 11:35 NIV).
A good cry can be good for our emotional, physical, and spiritual well-being to rid ourselves of elements that may otherwise cause us great harm.
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All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (R) Copyright (C) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All Rights reserved.
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