He will wipe away every tear from their eyes

Why will there be tears at a time like this? A quick background will help us see why-

Imagine a child needing a textbook for school. He doesn’t ask his father for this need- his class teacher has led him to believe that his father expects him to contribute some or all of the cost of the textbook before he can buy one for him. His teacher tells him that this is what his father wants and expects.

In order to earn the cost of the textbook and also please his father, the helpless kid does all sorts of things recommended by his class teacher who claims to know his father’s will- all of this in addition to his schoolwork. The class teacher does give him a textbook for all of his efforts, but it is a high-maintenance photocopy of the original! The pages are so badly stapled together that some words are illegible. He has to be extra-careful around liquids because spills caused the toner-based text to bleed and rendered some pages useless.

He struggles to maintain the textbook and wonders why some of his even naughty classmates who didn’t do any work to earn their books received brand-new and waterproof textbooks from their parent; they read/prepare for their exams with ease while he who struggled to pay for his textbook has to go about asking them: “Please, what is the sentence at the bottom of page 5?” whenever a test was approaching. The kid suffers on in his lack and wonders why his father treats him this way despite all of his efforts at earning the textbook that will help him pass his exams.

Beloved, beware of "class teachers" aka antichrist pastors who claim to know the heart of God towards you His child in Christ. These ones portray God as a hard Taskmaster who will not bless you with all things unless you pay the price of fasting, sowing seed, striving to be godly etc with your labour and toiling. Proverbs 10:22 tells us the nature of our Lord God and His blessing:

"The blessing of the Lord–it makes [truly] rich, and He adds no sorrow with it [neither does toiling increase it]."

And how does God give us His blessing with Christ? It is FREELY. See this Romans 8:32-

"He who did not spare His own Son but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?"

Freely and never because we fasted, sowed seed, gave to the needy or washed church toilet in exchange for His goodness. Christ is the Price of that "textbook" aka the blessing of God. When your believing is right, (like the kids who knew the love of their parents, asked, freely received original textbooks and so were able to prepare for and pass their tests with greater ease,) right living will follow.

Beloved, the kids who got their textbooks freely still studied for and wrote exams, but with ease; freely receiving from God does not mean living a life of godlessness and idleness as wicked class teachers (antichrist pastors) love to imply. You'll find that kids who know that they are loved and cared for by their parents are always eager to please their parents and don't want to do anything that will bring disgrace to them. But like the older brother of the prodigal son who thought his father should bless him because of his toil and labour and was angry with his father for freely giving to his wastrel brother, those those who depend on their "trade by barter" fasts, seeds and works to get God to bless often get angry /fret against God because things don't seem to go their way-

"People ruin their lives by their own foolishness and then are angry at the Lord." Proverbs 19:3.

God's definition of "foolishness" above is totally different from man's definition of being dumb, slow or idiotic. See the definition of foolishness in the word of God whose ways and thoughts are higher than man's in Galatians 3-

"Oh, foolish Galatians! Who has cast an evil spell on you? For the meaning of Jesus Christ’s death was made as clear to you as if you had seen a picture of His death on the cross. Let me ask you this one question: Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses? Of course not! You received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ. How foolish can you be? After starting your new lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort?" Galatians 3:1‭-‬3.

Foolishness is trying to please God, get His blessing (textbook) or trying to be godly (be like God) in His sight by human effort aka arm of flesh. Beloved, by Grace, let's not be found here. This care of having a change of heart concerning our heavenly Father and His Way of blessing and saving us is not something that can be attained by human effort either so cast all your care on Jesus. He always cares for you. He Himself will change your inner being.

But we were discussing why there will be tears in heaven - Revelation 21:1-4--

"1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone......4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”

Why will there be tears at this time?

Well, the story about the kid whose teacher led him to slave away for his textbook hasn't quite ended. Did I mention that his father was the school principal and it was a boarding school? This kid met up with his father at home for the holidays and finally asked:

"Why Dad? My grades suffered because I was working hard to pay for my book when I should have been resting like the other kids and yet you gave me just a photocopy that was barely legible. Because I could not read it, my grades suffered even more. But you gave my brother an original for free and so his grades surpassed mine. Why, Daddy? I worked really to pay for that textbook"

His father told him to look inside his backpack. Right there was his original copy of the textbook that his father had given to him at the beginning of the term! Previously forgotten memories of his father giving the textbook to him and his warning concerning teachers of "foolishness" who tell students to pay for their own father's freely-given blessings flooded his heart. He burst out crying at the thought of the unnecessary and even harmful labour and toil that he went through just to have a useless and very high-maintenance photocopy of the Father's blessing. He saw that he had disregarded the original "textbook" which is free of charge for all who are God's children (- all who believe in Jesus Christ.) Now Matthew 25:29 which comes right after Christ told the Parable of the Talents begins to make sense:

"For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away."

See the AMPC: “For to everyone who has [and values his blessings and gifts from God, and has used them wisely], more will be given, and [he will be richly supplied so that] he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have [because he has ignored or disregarded his blessings and gifts from God], even what he does have will be taken away."

The “talent” is God’s gift of righteousness to us in Christ. Believe and depend on Him and you will bear much fruit. Why disregard/ hide it at the bottom of your backpack?

In heaven, there will be tears because many among us will see the futility of our past toiling and labour done in order to get God to bless. Many of us will finally see that it is those same attempts at trying to get right with God by keeping the law, fasts, seeds, and laborious efforts that wicked class teachers tell us to indulge in to get God's blessings that stands in the way of good success in Christ. Beloved, God Himself is telling us in His word today that He gives us all things FREELY with Christ. We have not even begun to scratch the surface of His goodness.

God is Love. Love finds fulfillment in giving. This is why Christ was refreshed after the Samaritan woman at the well of Jacob took salvation from Him. His disciples left a tired Jesus at the well when they went to buy food but returned to meet a refreshed Jesus. He loves it when we FREELY take and take and take from Him. In Him, God fills us to overflowing with His goodness so much that we cannot but be blessed, live right, and be a source of blessing to others- like the Samaritan woman who lost her shame and became one of the first evangelists- through her, her entire village heard about and believed Jesus.

But many among us act like that brother of the prodigal son who was angry at his father because despite all of his hard work, he did not get any reward. But believer, this brother also got his own share of the Father's estate at the same time as his wayward brother! He must have forgotten, just like the "textbook" kid. See this Luke 15:12–

“11 And He said, “A man had two sons. 12 The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the estate that falls to me.’ So he divided his wealth between them.”

The older brother could have asked for or even taken a kid (for us- good health, prosperity, freedom from earthly ills, etc) to celebrate with his friends at anytime. Freely. It was already his. But he felt that he had to earn it. See the Father's response to the older brother:

31 “His father said to him, ‘Look, dear son, you have always stayed by me, and everything I have is yours. 32 We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!’”

Beloved, the Lord God is telling us the same thing today. We who believe are joint heirs with Christ so let's stop being like that foolish child who chooses to trek to school in the pouring rain and on a route riddled with danger just to prove to her father that she wants to go to school, deserve his accolades or get him to pay her school fees - this after her father has provided her with a car and driver.

Many might think: "Those are kids. Adults must hold themselves to higher standards and at least put some effort (arm of flesh!) into getting God to bless." But see Christ in Matthew 18:3-

"Jesus called a little child to His side and set him on his feet in the middle of them all. “Believe Me,” He said, “unless you change your whole outlook and become like little children you will never enter the kingdom of Heaven. It is the man who can be as humble as this little child who is greatest in the kingdom of Heaven."

Peter's experience shows us God's definition of humility. Peter's thought exalted itself against the knowledge of God —- he thought that Christ was wrong about his then upcoming denials. Peter was chiseled and humbled by his trial. No wonder he wrote "humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God..." He experienced a glimpse into life outside the mighty hand of God that keeps us from devolving into heinous sins and utter lack of success.

Beloved, God is not interested in our silly efforts to save ourselves or getting Him to bless through useless fasts, seeds, labour and toiling. Christ is the Price of the textbook that is His goodness. When your believing is right, right living will follow.