Empathy: August 20, 2013

TODAY’S WORD FOR TUESDAY AUGUST 20, 2013.

EMPATHY

DEFINITION: 

The intellectual identification with or experiencing the feelings, thoughts or attitudes of another; identifying with and understanding of another’s situation, feelings or emotions.

SCRIPTURE:

Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with Me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way. Matthew 15:32.

All things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son. Romans 8: 28-29. 

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

I will never forget when our oldest daughter dislocated her little finger playing in her high school basketball game. They stopped the game and we saw her finger totally bent the wrong way. To say the least it looked grotesque. We took her to the doctor and he carefully twisted and turned the finger until it went back in place.

As parents we felt "the hurt" probably as much and maybe even more than our daughter. It is difficult for parents to see their children suffer. As parents we want to make the pain go away and we would rather go through the painful experience ourselves rather than have our children go through it. Parents have deep empathy for their children when they suffer, whether it is the physical pain of sickness or injury or whether it is emotional and mental pain resulting from the pressures of life or from harmful relationships.

There is a difference between sympathy and empathy. Empathy is a deeper and more complex emotion. Empathy is putting yourself in the place of what another is feeling or going through. Jesus empathizes with all our feelings and all our needs. In Matthew 15:32 (above) Jesus even empathized with the feeling of hunger pangs which He knew the crowd was experiencing as they had been following Him for three days. His empathy compelled Him to feed the crowd of 4000 by multiplying 7 loaves of bread and a few fish.

It is empathy for the physical pain and suffering of others that people become doctors. If we trust earthly doctors to care for our children, how much more should we be willing to trust God, our great a physician to heal our broken body and to reset our broken lives "to be conformed to the image of His Son" (Romans 8:29). God's empathy for our suffering is so much greater than any doctor.

One of God's purposes of pain is to mold us into the image of Jesus in our hearts. The next time you feel pain remember what God wants to do for you through the pain. God wants us to be able to weep with those who weep and may need to stain our cheeks with a few of our own tears so that we will empathize with others in their time of need just as Jesus did.

Next time you feel pain or even discouraged or broken hearted, do not panic. Jesus not only knows what you are feeling but He empathizes with you. Seek the Lord our God who heals the broken hearted and bandages their wounds Psalm 147:3. Just stop and praise God knowing that He is at work in your life.

LEARNING: 

Our memory verse for this week is found in John 20:21.

Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.

PRAYER:

Give us the strength to go through any pain we may face today knowing that You are in control. May the pain we face be a learning time for us to become more Christ-like in our daily walk and talk.