Imagine the unimaginable. You’re home fixing dinner. The television news is on and there’s the breaking story – cameras on the scene: A child is absolutely still. Deathly still. In a pool of blood. Under a pale blanket. It’s just another horrifying, heartbreaking news item. But then your phone rings. Suddenly it doesn't matter what was for dinner. The dead child is your neighbor.
You’re suddenly reeling, as if in a dream. The world around you screams to a halt. The grief of someone very near becomes as close as your own. Your first thought is, “Oh, how my heart goes out to _______.” Your next thought is, “What can I do to help? How can I comfort this family?” You realize that many of the seemingly sincere gestures offered over the next days may be of no “comfort” at all. Some “comforters” may be good candidates for a Job’s counselor – and none of us wants that title. What do you do?
You’re suddenly reeling, as if in a dream. The world around you screams to a halt. The grief of someone very near becomes as close as your own. Your first thought is, “Oh, how my heart goes out to _______.” Your next thought is, “What can I do to help? How can I comfort this family?” You realize that many of the seemingly sincere gestures offered over the next days may be of no “comfort” at all. Some “comforters” may be good candidates for a Job’s counselor – and none of us wants that title. What do you do?
“…the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles,
so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the
comfort we ourselves have received from God.”
- II Corinthians 1:4
God’s Word tells us to comfort others with the same comfort we’ve received ourselves! When we survive a traumatic situation with God’s help, we become uniquely qualified to help others who have the same problem. In a sense, God gives us a special ministry. But simply being comforted by God in any circumstance gives us a message of hope for others with problems, regardless of the nature of their trials. That’s the way God’s comfort is supposed to work. It flows from heart to heart!
The entire book of II Corinthians is a letter of comfort. The word is used twenty-nine times in the letter. But comfort here is not just sympathy, it refers to “calling another alongside to help.” The word combines the ideas of exhortation and consolation. There is comfort and grace available for every problem we face and each of us has – and always will have -- problems and dilemmas and shockingly horrifying things happen to us and to our neighbors because “Man born of woman is of few days and full of trouble.” (Job 14:1)
So what kind of comforting blanket do you throw around your neighbor to put out the smoldering anger and burning pain and grief?
“Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.”
- Romans 12:15
“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up….”
- 1 Thessalonians 5:11
“Carry each others’ burdens, and in this way you
will fulfill the law of Christ.”
- Galatians 6:2
“And we urge you, brothers… encourage the timid,
help the weak, be patient with everyone.”
- 1 Thessalonians 5:14
When one person comforts another, something is poured out of one and into the other that has the power to encourage, restore and heal the deepest hurts. It’s God’s design! Ordinary people intersecting to share and reveal HIS Comfort!
- Pastor Mark
No comments:
Post a Comment