Co-Suffering With Christ

HEART //

How incredible it is that God would call us his children! Because of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, God has brought us into his family and promised us true life in him. As family, we have the privilege of sharing in the good and the bad, the glory of God, and in his sufferings. As we focus on compassion this week, let’s take a better look at what it actually means. 

The original meaning of the word “compassion” means to “co-suffer” with another. How are we called to “co-suffer” with Jesus? Well, let’s think about it this way... to love our neighbor as ourselves means that we are open to feeling what they feel and are willing to put ourselves in their place. This leads us to experience a deep passion to alleviate any suffering they may be experiencing. It leads us to care. Don’t you think God’s heart must break as he feels the suffering of his children who are enslaved by things like poverty, fear, and the pursuit of worldly pleasures? How often do we allow our hearts to be touched by the suffering of our fellow humans? 

We are God’s children and he has given us everything we need to be his hands and feet to those who are suffering around us. We become more like God when we engage our hearts with his, and we begin to care about who he cares about. When we follow in his footsteps, our life could get a little out of the ordinary, but isn’t that what being a Christian is all about? Putting others first doesn’t always mean selling everything and moving to a poverty-stricken community. But we must know that when we open our hearts and begin caring about the vulnerable people in our world, things will begin to look different... and for most of us in modern, affluent church, ‘different’ could be a very good thing. 

WORK //  

Think about this: Worldwide more than 6 million children die from malnutrition each year. One out of every seven people worldwide battles hunger every day.* Most children living in poverty only get to eat one meal each day, which is typically a small portion of beans and rice. Take on the challenge of eating beans and rice this week--for lunch each day, for an entire day, or for the whole week! As you eat, think about what it would be like to eat that for every meal and have barely enough to survive. 

Are you willing to co-suffer with Jesus even if it means that you may experience hard times?