On a recent trip to a Christian concert, we heard a song by the band Crowder with this line in the refrain. Then, as so often happens in my life when God wants to make a point with me, I encountered the same line two more times in the last couple of weeks. I am not certain if the message is for me or someone else.
The line was originally from a poem written by Thomas Moore and later revised by Thomas Hastings to read as follows:
Come, ye disconsolate, where’er ye languish;
Come to the mercy-seat, fervently kneel;
Here bring your wounded hearts, here tell your anguish,
Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal.
Joy of the comfortless, light of the straying,
Hope of the penitent, fadeless and pure;
Here speaks the Comforter, tenderly saying—
Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot cure.
Here see the Bread of Life; see waters flowing
Forth from the throne of God, pure from above;
Come to the feast of love; come, ever knowing
Earth has no sorrow, but heaven can remove.
Then again, when I was reading a book of old sermons by Samuel Logan Brengle an early commissioner in the Salvation Army, (yes I am the sort of person who does that), I found another rendition with the same line.
Here dwells the Father; love’s waves are streaming
Forth from the throne of God, plenteous and pure;
Come to His temple for mercy redeeming;
Earth has no sorrow that He cannot cure
Here waits the Savior, gentle and loving,
Ready to meet you, His grace to reveal;
On Him your burden cast, trustfully coming;
Earth has no sorrow that Heaven cannot heal
Here speaks the Comforter, Light of the straying,
Hope of the penitent, Advocate sure;
Joy of the desolate! Tenderly saying,
Earth has no sorrow, My grace cannot cure.
You can clearly hear the Salvation Army’s redemptive message from those lines! What does all this mean except that I spend too much time with my nose in dusty old books? It’s that line, “Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal”!
This world, this life, is filled with sorrow. A pastor we are associated with who was serving one of the most vibrant intercultural churches in the world died suddenly of a heart attack. Another, closer to home, lost a long battle with cancer recently.
Sorrow is part of life on this planet. But this is not the final destination! 1 Thessalonians 4:13” Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope.”
Brengle said, “That is the message of Easter. The grave has no victory; it does not hold our treasures. To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord, and death is but the narrow gateway into that life without tears or pain or fear of parting, to them that love the Lord…The grave has no terrors for him, for he knows he will never lie down in it- it only receives his cast-off body.”
Yet, so much pain and brokenness remain in the living all around us. Within the small church family that we currently belong to there are four families who are raising children who are not their own. That is around fifteen children in a congregation of fewer than 100 people who are not living with their biological parents. Every Sunday I am surrounded by children who have suffered loss in a way I certainly never have.
Again the dusty hymn sings out, “Come to the mercy-seat, fervently kneel;
Here bring your wounded hearts, here tell your anguish,
Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal.”
How do we cope when they lash out in angry rebellion? Can God give us the grace to realize that anger is also a stage of grief they must go through to process the losses they have experienced? That hurting people want to hurt people. Since they do not yet know the way to the mercy seat, will we bring these wounded hearts to the Father? We know that only the overwhelming love of the Heavenly Father can heal the wounded hearts of children carrying the loss of their earthly fathers. Will we surround these often overwhelmed families with prayer and practical support? As the Brengle version says,
“Here waits the Savior, gentle and loving, ready to meet you, His grace to reveal;
On Him your burden cast, trustfully coming; Earth has no sorrow that Heaven cannot heal.”
We can be the burden bearers for these families, asking God to reveal His grace in their lives. Who lives around you? Who might God be calling you to bring hope to today? Do you know someone who is a foster parent, single mother, or a grandparent raising grandchildren? Pray for them, intercede for those children and above all believe that “Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal”! (Also, take them cookies, it always helps…)