Empathy

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and 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 receive from God. 2 Corinthians 3-4 

  

  Empathy is a powerful human emotion. It marks us as people with the love of God that is both alive and well in our hearts. 

  When you tell someone that you are on your way to the doctor’s office, or to the dentist’s office, you evoke feelings of empathy from others as they have been through what you are about to go through. 

  When someone tells us that they have been diagnosed with cancer, or that a loved one has been diagnosed with the disease, our hearts immediately go out to them with great feelings of empathy. 

  Contrariwise, in times of war, political or social unrest, the tools of hate, bigotry, and prejudice are invoked to destroy any empathy we might feel for another, making both the victim and ourselves somehow less human. 

  You cannot be a Christian serving God without a strong, healthy, and working empathy able to be evoked whenever you see another suffering and in pain. Empathy is rooted in kindness and love. Compassion is its calling card. 

  Whenever someone tries to reduce your capacity for empathy, or make another seem less human because they do not look or act like “us”, we must rid ourselves of those prejudices with a response of empathy. 

  You may not be able to take to the mission field, or even have the strength to travel anywhere preaching the gospel. Yet you will always have the ability and capacity to love and pray for those who are hurting no matter where they are, or where you reside. Empathy should come quickly to your heart whenever you see anyone hurting or in need. In this way we are like Jesus. 

  Prayer: Dear Lord, there are so many needs around us that we often feel overwhelmed, yet help us never to lose our capacity for empathy and compassion for others. Amen.