Comfort and Compassion
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2 Corinthians 1:3-5
3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4. who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5. For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.
My NIV translation reads: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort . .” I was convicted earlier this week very powerfully and was deeply humbled about my behavior. I spend a good portion of my day taking calls from individuals who are in need of counseling services. Some of them are merely calling to leave a voice mail for their counselor, but almost daily I speak to someone who needs to set up an appointment for the first time. I am responsible for “assigning” them to a counselor based on many variable criteria. I work very hard to be sure they hear the compassion and empathy in my voice -- and in my heart.
It is, for me, easy to be kind and compassionate to people in need in that way. They have a concrete, identified situation in their lives, or life in general has become too overwhelming and they need someone to guide through the situation. The difficulty for me comes in dealing with those who don’t act as I think they should -- coworkers, other work associates, fellow store customers or drivers on the road with me. Especially if those individuals don’t act in a way that “I think” is “Christian.” One evening this week God held a mirror up to me and said, “Mary, you judge others for doing things you don’t like, and yet, you do those same things toward them--or others. How can you convict another?”
I am not one who like to be wrong -- and like even less admitting I am wrong. So I was pretty much thrown for a loop! But yesterday, I was very conscious of my thoughts, my words, my actions. And I will admit that I caught myself short innumerable times throughout the day. I’m not beating myself up. I’m glad I realized my shortcoming, so that I can correct it! And I’m sharing this rather embarrassing truth to hopefully cause you to stop and think about an area of your life that might need some “tweaking.”
It’s not easy to be a Christian. But the God of all comfort assures us it is worth it -- and will be worth it! When we get to heaven, we’ll know it was worth it! We have been saved! Because of that we are both compelled and expected to be the light of Christ to the world. Even to those who are rude, disrespectful, thoughtless -- because really they are probably in pain and distress -- and they need the comfort of Christ’s love, just as much as the weeping, the desperate and those suffering in silence.
My prayer today is that you’ll offer up to God everything in your life that separates you from Him. And that you will show your thanks for his forgiveness and mercy by offering the same to everyone you meet.
Mary
