Tears in a Bottle

Psalm 56:8 is one of the most amazing verses in the Bible:

"You have ... put my tears in your bottle."

How great is it that we serve a God that cares enough about our tears to store them up?

Here is what John Calvin says about this verse:

"David prays that God might put his tears into his bottle. It was usual to preserve wine and oil in bottles: so that the words amount to a request that God would not suffer his tears to fall to the ground, but keep them with care as a precious deposit. The prayers of David, as appears from the passage before us, proceeded upon faith in the providence of God, who watches our every step, and by whom (to use an expression of Christ) “the very hairs of our head are numbered,” (Matthew 10:30.) Unless persuaded in our mind that God takes special notice of each affliction which we endure, it is impossible we can ever attain such confidence as to pray that God would put our tears into his bottle, with a view to regarding them, and being induced by them to interpose in our behalf.

God cares about our heartfelt sorrows - so much so that He would store our tears in a bottle. He helps us with our needs and comforts us in our troubles. But I wonder if there is more to this imagery....

Why would God store my tears? Is this just a metaphor, or does He have a lacrimal sac in heaven for each of us? (See first post for tear biology.) If this is real in some way, what is the point of it all? I don't understand how God might use these bottled tears in heaven, but I do know that this will be for my good and His glory. All that will be revealed then will be abundantly greater than all the tears I have ever shed. How can I not love, serve, and obey a God who counts my every tear?