The Bible is a challenging piece of reading.  One could still think that something new in our modern theological, computer-driven existence is pushing the boundaries of innovation, then one could study the application of the deep truths of Scripture to set the moral foundation of every aspect of life and provide insight.  

One thing is certain: the nature of man has not changed since Creation to the present day.  Just read the Psalms written a thousand years before Jesus’ life on earth and you will see that the fears and doubts of a soul are just the same, even if the circumstances, trials and tasks are different.  The wilderness of Judea is as terrifying and broken as the perplexities in an age of technological overload. 

That is why our peace and joy in the promises of God are guaranteed in the same degree of intensity as the moment the words were formed in the mouth of an ancient prophet.  The metaphors, symbolism, and imagery of biblical language speak as pertinently to our modern demands on life as they addressed the people of the ancient world.

In a study of the symbols used in biblical language, there is a clear sustainable coherence from Genesis to Revelation.  So much truth is communicated with symbolism.  This is the essence of semiotics, the study of signs and symbols.  In the Bible it is used to communicate a greater reality than what we see with our natural eyes.  

We know from the first chapters in Genesis that God spoke of seed.  In the quintessentially important phrase in Genesis 3:15 where the defeat of the serpent is announced, we know that the seed of the woman will bring forth the Messiah to conquer sin and death.

Seeds are the point of life.  The seed of a man and woman produces life.  The phenomenon of a dry old seed being sown in the ground and then becoming the largest tree, bearing fruit, providing shade and standing for thousands of years is one of the majestic wonders of Creation.  We see it daily — the trees and plants remind us of the potential of life — so that we would never forget God’s work of creation in our own lives.

In my song of life (Isaiah 55) I read of this miracle as a symbol of the Word of God.  The Word is seed, which grows and bears fruit.  Jesus confirmed this in his parable of the Sower.

“For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven,
And do not return there, But water the earth,
And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower
And bread to the eater,
So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;
It shall not return to Me void,
But it shall accomplish what I please,
And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:10,11)

It is this Word of God that accomplishes God’s purpose in our lives.

We don’t always see that.  We live in a sinful, broken world that bears down and pollutes our souls on a daily basis.  The higher life in Christ is a battle against evil and apostasy.  Just as the unbeliever has to fight out his existence in the consequences of sin on earth, so the Christian must fight alongside him.  The example of salvation and the principles of the Kingdom of God, from which the believer lives, is the representation of God on earth. We live God’s compassion, his Heart of love for all humanity and his desire for all to be converted.  We have the power of the Gospel, the good news, to share.

Tragedy hits hard.  Sometimes the news is just too overwhelming.  In addition to murder and manslaughter, natural disasters over which man has no control, are the order of the day.  In our digital existence, we know so much about the news out there.

Then all of a sudden, it’s close and things happen in our own lives.  It’s grief, shock, and wounding that don’t make the headlines.  The tears run freely.  We lean hard on God — sometimes with anger and reproach, but in deep dependence on the One who gathers and writes up our tears. (Psalm 56:9) 

We weep and we sow…

Those who sow in tears Shall reap in joy.
He who continually goes forth weeping, Bearing seed for sowing,
Shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, Bringing his sheaves with him.

Those who sow with tears will reap with shouts of joy.

The bearer of the seed sac who walks and weeps,

will definitely come back with shouts of jubilation as he wears his sheaves. (Psalm 126:5,6)

Spurgeon calls it “liquid prayer.”  This is how we overcome any possible tragedy in life — our tears in the fertile ground of God’s love that yields us a harvest.  We can never afford to “waste” our life’s tears.  In the Hand of our God to whom we cry out, our tears are seed with a guaranteed harvest of victory.

Tears of brokenness are the seed of triumph, the path of spiritual breakthrough to inexplicable joy. The Bible is full of examples.

Hezekiah cries tears of grief over his illness that God’s miraculous words through the prophet bring upon him: I have seen your tears, surely I will heal you. (2 Kings 20:5)

Jacob and Esau weep tears of joy at a reunion and a reconciliation in their relationship. (Genesis 33:4)

Jesus cries tears of compassion at Lazarus’ tomb – compassion for the immense and devastating finality of physical death that confronts us as humans here on earth.  (John 11:35)

Tears of desperation in the crisis of political upheaval bring miracle outcomes.  Mordecai and the Jews fast and pray and weep with their Queen Esther, before the Lord. (Esther 4:1,3)

God asks tears of confession and repentance.  It is the seed of revival. Now, therefore,” says the Lord, “Turn to Me with all your heart,
With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.” (Joel 2:12)

Isn’t that a joyful thought?  Our tears will yield a harvest. It is the promise of Psalm 126.

It takes the faith of a mustard seed that produces a great tree of spiritual victory. 

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, And whose hope is the Lord.
For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters,
Which spreads out its roots by the river, And will not fear when heat comes;
But its leaf will be green, And will not be anxious in the year of drought,
Nor will cease from yielding fruit.  (Jeremiah 17:7,8)

Receive the Word in your soul so that you can become the tree.  This is the harvest from the ministry of your tears.

Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.   (James 1:21)

In simple humility, let our gardener, God, landscape you with the Word, making a salvation-garden of your life.  (The Message)