Empathy

Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. – Romans 12.15 

The word of God is very clear when it uses the image of a body to illustrate the church. We are a family. We are a body. 

Sometimes it is any to forget that. Sometimes we can think that it is all about us. Our problems and our issues and our situations can seem so big that we forget about everyone else. 

But that is not how a normally operating body functions. When I stub my toe or bang my shin my whole body responds. I howl and jump up and down and groan and bend over and grab or rub the injured body part. When one part of the body hours the whole body feels it. 

On the other hand, when I got back from Dublin yesterday and pulled off my shoes my whole body was relieved. It was ecstasy. I oohed and aahed with pleasure. My whole body rejoiced when I pulled off my shoes. 

And so it should be with the spiritual body of Christ. When one part rejoices the whole body should rejoice. It should be second nature. 

When one part of the body weeps the whole body should weep. 

Whether it be joy or weeping we should never have to go through it alone. It's our job to look out for those rejoicing. When they do there is no room for jealousy or envy. We shout and rejoice and jump up and down with them. 

And when weeping comes sometimes all we can is draw up alongside and weep with them. 

May God give each of us that wonderful spriritual empathy that makes the body one.