Cross and the Jukebox is a radio ministry by Russel Moore, a pastor who serves at a Baptist Church. I have listened to him preach through podcasts downloaded from the internet. In his show, Russel Moore responds to a specific song as he answers/comments to the lyrics as if it was a concern presented by a person to a counselor.
One of my favorite episodes was the one titled “tears in heaven”. I learned that the song was written and sung by a father (Eric Clapton) who lost his son when the young child crawled out and fell off from the window. It’s a very tragic story.
“Tears in heaven” was written with a heart full of grief and deep pain. Through his song, Eric was saying that “time will not heal the wounds; time is not going to address this; time will not make the situation easier; and that the only way to ever get out of the suffering he feels, is to be with his son”.
An excerpt of the lyrics:
Would you hold my hand
If I saw you in heaven?
Would you help me stand
If I saw you in heaven?
I’ll find my way through night and day
‘Cause I know I just can’t stay here in heaven
Time can bring you down, time can bend your knees
Time can break your heart, have you begging please, begging please
I, like Russel, personally do not know Eric’s religious background. But we can see in his song how much he was longing to be with his son in heaven. Though this story was mentioned and elaborated a little, the episode more on addressed one question Eric raised in his song: will we recognize each other in heaven?
Russell made the following points:
1. It is a shame for a person who knows the Scriptures to ask such a question like “will we recognize each other in heaven?”
He says that it is legitimate for someone who does not believe in God or,perhaps believes in Him yet does not really know Him, to ask about whether “we will recognize each other in heaven or not”. But for someone who knows the Scriptures, and asks such questions, he says “it’s a shame”.
It is sad for a Christian to view heaven as an “isolating” or a “lonely” place. The fact that someone could ask a question like “would we recognize each other in heaven?” implies how one pictures out what heaven looks likes. Heaven is not ‘you isolated in a place of clouds, with God explaining to you what your life was on earth’.
The new creation, as the Scripture says, is “relational”. Jesus said “you will dine with me. . .in my Father’s kingdom”. It is a resumption of the relationship that we have with Jesus today.
2. God will wipe away our tears in heaven
“He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” -Rev21:4
Russel said that for someone who is in Eric’s situation, one could be tempted to think that he is abandoned by God ‘because he has tears‘. It is easier said but of course we know that is not true (c.ref.Romans8:28).
At the resurrection day, God promised that, He will wipe away every tear. And the hands that will wipe our tears away, are the hands of a God who has also shed tears in this world. A God who understands. On that day, everything (including the struggles we face) will finally make sense. On the last day, we will know why we had to go through some bumps on the road, and we will understand how the Spirit was working in conforming us into the likeness of Jesus Christ.
What I love about this episode, other than the few points mentioned above, is that it perfectly reminds us that the troubles we face each day, light or heavy, are just momentary. It is just a piece of the whole puzzle. A part of one great plan. Rather temporary.
Jesus Avenue 