Over the past few days, I’ve been talking with someone who’s been surprised by feeling of rage, fear, and sadness because of things going on in someone else’s life. Simply trying to come along side a good friend, be supportive, and walk with them through some really difficult situations, they were overwhelmed with feelings that overflowed from the other person’s life.
In Galatians, the apostle Paul tells us to carry each other’s burdens. In Romans he says we rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn. These are very reassuring words, because they remind us that we don’t have to carry life’s burdens alone. We have others, specifically our brothers and sisters in Christ, to help us when life gets too heavy.
On the other hand, we will end up with some of weight others have to carry will overflow onto our backs. That’s the hard part. Here we are, minding our own business and trying to be good friends, and suddenly, we’re hurting because of someone else’s pain. We’re crying because of someone else’s tears. And sometimes we’re filled with rage because someone else is suffering an injustice. Is it fair that we have to suffer for someone else’s mistakes?
Ah, you’re getting a taste of what Christ went through for us. Punished for our sins, rejected because of our selfishness, killed because of our unfaithfulness, Jesus knows all about unfair. Maybe we go through some of that so that we know him better. And like Paul also said, there’s nothing like knowing him.
Image: Anguish by Thomas Hawk at Flickr
Stirred, not shaken 