Wednesday; February 15

The shortest verse in the New Testament contains two words: Jesus wept (John 11:35). I am sure that these circumstances surrounding Jesus’ tears weren’t the only time Jesus cried, but a look back at the context of this observation can teach us a lesson today. Have you ever thought about why Jesus wept? Was it because Jesus was sad that Lazarus had died? Was it because Jesus lamented delaying His trip to see Lazarus when He first got word that His friend was sick? Was it because He wished He could have done something to prevent the death? No, I really don’t think these played into Jesus’ emotional response. Jesus understood that He had the power to reverse death and He had made the conscious choice to delay His trip to Bethany. I also believe that Jesus had already made up His mind that He was going to raise Lazarus when He shed the tears, so what prompted them? I get the impression that what got to Jesus was the sadness of the people around Him. John observes, “When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and was troubled …” (John 11:33). He was influenced by the emotions of the people around Him.

As Christians, it is easy to become detached to the suffering going on around us. Sometimes we have the ability to help those hurting and other times we are able to compartmentalize human sadness by looking at it through the eyes of eternity. Yet, we are reminded to be sensitive to the emotions of others. The Apostle Paul wrote, “Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.” (Romans 12:15). I am not saying that we have to take on all the emotions of the people around us, but let’s be responsive to what they are experiencing. When we do, we’ll appear more humane and they can be restored by knowing someone cares for them.

Think About It!

Popular posts from this blog

Thursday; May 3

I have a fish tank that allows my three Bettas (Larry, Darrell and Darrell) to live in the same structure, but remain hidden from each other – well sort of.   When I go to feed the fish, I believe that one of the Darrell’s can sort of see that the other Darrell is getting fed and he will linger over on that side of the tank even after I put his food in his tank.   I have to tap on the side of the tank where his food is floating to help him refocus and eat.   I get the impression that he is so interested in what is going on in the other Darrell’s tank that he can’t enjoy his own food. I have been told that the brain of a fish is pretty small – which explains their inability to process “blessings”, but are we guilty of the same malady as Darrell?   Are we so worried (or consumed) by what happens to the people around us that we fail to realize what is going on with us?   Are we envious of the blessings that others are receiving and end up missing out on what we have been given?   Are w
Read more

Thursday; February 14

         While most of us are familiar with today being Valentine’s Day, there are some who actually refer to February 14 th as “St. Valentine’s Day”.  This title is often affixed to a criminally historic event known as “The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre” on February 14, 1929 in Chicago, but that is another story for another time.  Not knowing much about the history of “Saint Valentine” I did a little research and found out he was a Roman religious leader who was martyred in 269 AD.  According to my limited research Valentine was killed because of his encouragement of Roman men (especially soldiers) to marry which was in violation of Claudias’ edict that prohibited marriage to keep their minds singularly focused on their task of defending the Empire.  Somehow, from this beginning – and possibly embellished by Chaucer – St. Valentine became intertwined with the concept of romantic love.           I am not really sure how February 14 th became connected with love, but inspired by thi
Read more

Wednesday; December 6

What does it mean to be a leader? I subscribe to the belief that a leader is someone who seeks the best for others and works with them to achieve their potential. There are others; however, who define leadership as the ability to have a vision and the tenacity to get their own way. Leaders who are this way are often portrayed as having developed the maturity to manipulate people to do things their way. However, is the ability to drive people in our direction mature or is it childish? The Christians of the 1st Century came from a lot of different backgrounds and had to work hard to work together. As the Apostle Paul challenged Christians in the city of Ephesus he challenged them to accept individual differences, “… until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. “ (Ephesians 4:13). Bossiness was not to be viewed as a sign of maturity, a willingness to wo
Read more