Easter Meditation: Life Immersed in Tears

Let us remember that life is often immersed in tears.”

The Passover Seder leader spoke these words as he dipped parsley into salt water last night, which was Maundy Thursday. In the ceremony, parsley represents new life and new beginnings, but salt water represents the suffering of the Jewish people as slaves in Egypt.

My own eyes stung at these words as I thought of the tears and grief that immersed my life over the past year. I was moved to think that God would include the reality of pain and sadness in a tradition that celebrates life and deliverance. He is a God who understands our deepest sorrows while bringing hope to them.

Who could understand better than Jesus? Isaiah called Him the “Man of Sorrows.”

His resurrection—new life—was possible only after He had immersed Himself in the worst death imaginable. Laden with the sins of the world on His torn shoulders, He was forsaken by the Father Himself.

He did this for you and me, so we wouldn’t have to be forsaken by the Father. The eternal life and communion with God He offers us is possible only because of the bitterness He endured.

Whatever your sin, Jesus bore its punishment fully on the cross. Whatever burden you bear, Jesus bore its full weight on the cross. Whatever grief or anguish of your heart, He bore its full bitterness on the cross.

There is one who understands that life is often immersed in tears. And ultimately, life came through the tears of the Son of God, who offers you today a new beginning.