Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Real Sympathy

The Bible says we need to rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those weep (Romans 12:15; 1 Corinthians 12:26; Hebrew 12:12,13). This is an easy thing to say, but hard to do. I often struggle over whether I genuinely care for others, or am I sitting around in my safe intellectual bubble rather than reaching out to people? When speaking to those who are suffering, do I communicate real concern or do I simply try to come up with some trite saying to avoid caring? I do not claim to have all the answers here. But I know I need to let God work this attitude of compassion in me. Sometimes the other half is hard too. It is easy to envy those who  are doing well, rather than rejoicing with them. But the more we realize we are part of the same body and part of one another, the more others' pain will become our pain and others' joy will become our joy (Romans 12:3-5; 1 Corinthians 12:8-25; Ephesians 4:16). For while this can be hard, it is what God calls us to do.
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4 comments:

  1. kc bobNovember 7, 2013 at 3:21 PM

    Life, and in particular pain, does have a way of either softening or hardening us to the pain of others.

    Been a bummer of a week for me. Lower back pain since Tuesday morning. Root canal yesterday – the highlight of my week. A lot of ankle pain – doc thinks it is a stress fracture and recommends that I stay off it as much as possible and give it time to heal. So I’ll probably be borrowing Ann’s manual wheelchair and taking it easy at home for a while - at least until I get the result of next Thursday's MRI.

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  2. Mike Erich the Mad TheologianNovember 7, 2013 at 8:06 PM

    I am sorry to hear that. My sympathy and prayers go with you. I have had a lot of experience with broken bones (I have in the past suffered from osteoporosis), And they are bad enough without a bad back and a root canal on top of one. May God bless and heal you.

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    Replies
    1. kc bobNovember 8, 2013 at 12:50 PM

      Thanks Mike. How did/do they treat your osteoporosis?

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    2. Mike Erich the Mad TheologianNovember 8, 2013 at 1:46 PM

      At the time they gave me fosomax. More recently I have taken mostly calcium, vitamin D and magnesium. But recently I have broken my toe which makes me wonder if it is coming back and has made me more regular in taking my calcium. I had slacked off which may have been my problem.

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