When the leaves wither and fall to the ground each year, so do the seeds that contain the power and promise for new life. In the same way, God uses the things that fail, frustrate, and disappoint us in the present as seed for the eternal future he has planned for us. This week we see how God’s saints sow tears and harvest joy. For those who are declared holy through the mercy and merit of Jesus Christ, our great hope is not that God would somehow spare us from tears in this life or prevent all that causes them to flow. Rather, the tears that fall to the ground as we mourn losing those we love will produce a harvest of joy when death is swallowed up in victory. Our joy in eternity will be all the greater for the tears we sow now.