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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nMy youngest enjoyed the series immensely, cheering on the\nBlues along the way. She even asked us for a life-size poster of Jordan\nBinnington, the Blue\u2019s rookie goalie. So, she was all in. But when the TV panned\nto a Bruin player taking in the loss with uncontrollable tears, my kid began crying\nright along with the Bruin. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBut the Blues won?!\u201d <\/em>we said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBut the Bruins are so sad,\u201d <\/em>she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I shouted across the room in a moment filled with zero empathy<\/em>,\n\u201cFor Pete\u2019s Sake! Be happy for the Blues!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBut, mom, don\u2019t you see that the other team is crying?\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYes. And we like it.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n That response didn\u2019t go over very well. A lecture ensued from my eleven-year old as to why we should care about the losers. I don\u2019t remember much of it, to be honest. We were bleeding blue, after all. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But the image of my daughter\u2019s eyes filled with tears while joy filled the space in the room is one I\u2019ll likely not forget. Her response was unexpected, and we still debate over the benefit of good ole\u2019 competition where there are winners (Blues) and there are losers (Bruins), but I have wondered in the last several weeks how the world would be different if we all had the kind of empathy toward one another that seems to come so naturally for my daughter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m not talking about fun banter and big sports wins, I\u2019m talking about the day to day love for another human being, especially in the body of Christ. I have a friend from college who is marked with the gift of understanding. She literally takes on a friend’s emotions, setting aside her own, and steps into the world in which the person exists. It\u2019s as if she uses all her senses to understand, to the fullest extent, what another brother or sister is going through. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Some, like my friend, are certainly better at empathizing\nthan others, but isn\u2019t love and empathy an exhortation for all believers? After\nall, Paul reminds every Christ-follower in the book of Romans that one of the\nmarks of a true Christian is love for another, and one of the ways we love is\nby empathizing: \u201cRejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep\u201d\n(Romans 12:15). <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Admittedly, this is difficult to do at times. I\u2019m not so good and climbing into the world of another in order to sincerely rejoice with them. Why is this hard for us to do? In part, it\u2019s because our sinful nature gets in the way. We scroll through social media filled with envy over someone\u2019s great accomplishment or beautiful getaway. Jealousy and covetousness are so ingrained because of sin that it\u2019s hard to squelch these tendencies when another is rejoicing. If you\u2019re single and a friend becomes engaged, sincere rejoicing is difficult because jealousy seeps in. When you\u2019ve struggled to become pregnant and receive news that a family member is with child, rejoicing is hard because contempt is already filling the space. <\/p>\n\n\n\n John Piper says, \u201cThe heart of envy is seeking contentment outside of Jesus.\u201d <\/em>Oh, how our hearts are prone to wander. God did not set this command in Romans only to benefit those who are rejoicing, but to also benefit the brothers and sisters who walk alongside. There is freedom <\/em>and satisfaction <\/em>when we are able to genuinely give thanks to God for what another has been given. There is a settled satisfaction when we are grounded in Jesus alone and not living in daily comparison of others. How do we crush jealousy? By genuinely rejoicing with our brothers and sisters when they rejoice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Sincere empathy for those who are sad doesn’t always come naturally. For some, it\u2019s hard to give the time needed to enter into another\u2019s grief. We\u2019re busy. We have things to do. And for others, the struggle is simply to relate. Once our kids are grown and out of the house, it\u2019s harder to remember the wearisome days with an infant when a young mother is crying out because of exhaustion. Our sinful tendency is pride, holding up our own fatigue in the face of the young mom’s tears. And when a parent admits pain and struggle in making decisions for their children, our sinful tendency is to critique and judge rather than empathize with their battle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After my parents died, there were many willing to step into my world and experience the deep-rooted grief that tugged at my heart. What I distinctly remember were some notes that expressed sincere sorrow, hugs that needed no words, and several instances of friends just taking the time to sit and listen. And because many empathized, I desire to be one who takes time to weep with those who weep. I know how life-giving it can be for a grieving soul. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But none of this can be done by our own abilities; we are weak and feeble, prone to wander. It’s Jesus who puts love for another in our heart if we ask Him. He gives us the ability to truly weep with a hurting soul, and He gives us the ability to give thanks for what God has given a friend, filling our soul with joy instead of envy. By His grace, Jesus molds our hearts to empathize with others, but we have to want<\/em> to love in the way God has called us to love. We have to be willing<\/em> to participate with a glad heart in the cheers and happiness of our sisters and brothers. And we need to be on the lookout, by God\u2019s strength, for those with tear-filled eyes in spaces filled with joy. <\/p>\n\n\n\nRejoice with One Another <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Weep with One Another <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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