There is so much going on here at Westlake Baptist that is exciting and I praise God for that. But so many times through our joys (personal and as a church) we forget that there is a group within the community and maybe even within the church that is not happy. They are not upset with the church or the direction of the church. Rather they are suffering in silence with various things going on in their life. For some it is a struggle in their marriage, others it is an addiction to something, and for others it could be financial problems or other things. The bottom line is there are people all around us who are suffering and we need to make sure that we are taking time to not only notice them, but to reach out to them with the love of Jesus.
In Romans 12 the apostle Paul was writing about Christian conduct. In that chapter we see that we are to live in the world, but not be like the world (vv. 1-2). We see that we are to be humble (v. 3). Paul also reminds us that we as the body of Christ all need each other (vv. 4-5). He also reminds us that God has given each of His children a spiritual gift that we are to use for His glory (vv. 6-8). But the verse that stands out to me concerning our subject at hand is verse 15 which says, “Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.” The first part of that verse is generally pretty simple. It is easy to be happy when others are happy. But so many times we avoid or simply pass by those who are struggling with life. So many times in the Gospels we read that Jesus “had compassion on them.” That is what Paul is calling us to here in verse 15. He is telling us that we must be compassionate. The truth of the matter is we may not be able to help solve their problem, but many times taking the time to come over and show that you care does more for that person than we even realize. In a world that is constantly beating us up and putting us down, what better way could we as Christians stand out as different from the crowd than by coming over and lending a shoulder or an ear to someone? Take time today to look around you and see who could use some encouragement. I promise they are there, we just have to take the time to look.
By His grace and through His strength may we live for Him!