Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Romans 12:15 NIV
There are no “lone” Christians. As members of the body of Christ we are all family. We enjoy life together when all is well and benefit from each others support when life gets hard. That’s the way God intends for the “church” to operate.
If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 1 Corinthians 12:26-27 NIV
I find comfort in knowing that I can count on my brothers and sisters in Christ when heartache sets in or when Satan attacks. If you are a believer in Christ, you are never alone! God is always with us! He also places us in community with other believers because He knows it helps us to have someone we can see and touch to comfort us and share our burdens.
So how much support does God want us to give each other? I think the writer of Hebrews gives us a clue:
Remember those in prison as if you were bound with them, and those who are mistreated as if you were suffering with them. Hebrews 13:3 NIV
When we get to the point that we can feel the pain of others, we are getting close to what God desires!
Job, hailed by God as the most righteous man on earth, put it this way:
Have I not wept for the one whose life is hard? Was not my soul grieved for the needy? Job 30:25 NASB
And David, a man after God’s own heart, gives us this picture of sharing each others burden:
Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth and humbled myself with fasting. When my prayers returned to me unanswered, I went about mourning as though for my friend or brother. I bowed my head in grief as though weeping for my mother. Psalm 35:13-14 NIV
So if you are struggling through a hard time, look to your brothers and sisters in Christ for help. If all is well in your world today, thank the Lord and be quick to bear the pain of others as though it were your own and allow God to love others through you. We truly are stronger together!
This reminded me of a short clip from “West Wing”….
A man fell in a hole…a doctor passed by and the man called out for help…the Doctor wrote out a prescription and dropped it into the hole…a priest passed by and the man called for help and the priest wrote out a prayer and dropped it in the hole…
A friend walked by and when he saw his friend, he jumped into the hole. The guy in the hole cried out, “Why did you do that?? Now there are 2 of us on this hole! ”
The friend said “I’ve been in a hole before, and I know the way out”
That’s a perfect illustration of this principle! May we all be willing to invest ourselves in the lives of others, stepping into their difficult circumstances so we can show them the way out!