Luke 1:57-58 Now the time came for Elizabeth to give
birth, and she bore a son. And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her.
If I am honest, I more
readily weep with those who weep than rejoice with those who rejoice. How about you?
As I consider Elizabeth’s
neighbors, I have to ask myself why this is true. Why is that when God blesses
another with something for which they have longed, I am not as committed to
passionately rejoicing as I am to compassionately commiserating?
On the surface it seems
that weeping with those who weep is more costly. But as I look deeper into my
own soul, I realize that might not be the case.
When I weep with another I
am often weeping over something they do not have, something that I do have or
do not desire. But when I rejoice with another, often it is over something they
have received that I have not.
By rejoicing with her,
Elizabeth’s neighbors became a true community of God. Together they witnessed and
then evidenced the great mercy of God that was visiting them all! Celebrating is not about what our
friend “gets” but about who God is among us all!
“Christianity is Christ living in community” – Dietrich
Bonhoeffer
Needing Mercy,
Pattie
Needing Mercy,
Pattie
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