7月13日
与人同哭
“耶稣哭了。犹太人就说：‘你看他爱这人是何等恳切。”
约翰福音11:35-36
我们总是希望别人尽快走出人生的低谷。当看到有人哀恸不已时，我们试图让他们立刻就停止悲痛，甚至转悲为喜。我们很少有人愿意和他们一起哀恸、一起等待。我们很容易会用宗教套话当作安慰剂来安慰他们。我们会说：“上帝对你会有安排的”，“发生的每一件事都有原因的”，“一切都会好起来的”，“你只要相信上帝”等等。最糟糕的事情，就是我们有时候还鼓励那悲痛的人停止悲痛。圣经中提到，耶稣哭了。他为拉撒路和祂的朋友们而哭泣。他为耶路撒冷而哭泣。他在客西马尼园流泪祷告，汗如血点。他极其伤痛。
爱，就是甘愿接受痛苦。是的，爱是忍耐，是恩慈，是永不止息，是不轻易发怒。这其中的每一个特质都表明了一颗真正愿意为他人受伤的心。忍耐、坚持、饶恕、信任，这些都会让你有意识地经历痛苦。哀恸的人有福了。爱不是软弱，爱是力量。我们有一位大能的上帝，祂爱我们，即使在我们哀恸的时候。
今日祷告：
主耶稣，给我力量去爱他人并与哀哭的人同哭。阿们。
July 13
Grieve
Then Jesus wept. The people who were standing nearby said, “See how much he loved him!”
JOHN 11:35 – 36
Too often we are looking for the quick out. When we see someone grieve, we try to make them immediately feel better. Rare is the person who is willing to wait in pain with someone who is actively in pain. It is much too tempting to throw pleasantries and consolations of religion as if they were placebo drugs: “God has a plan for you,” “Everything happens for a reason,” “It will all be okay,” and “Just trust God.” Sometimes, one of the worst things we can do is encourage someone to stop grieving. After all, Jesus wept. He wept for Lazarus and his friends. Jesus wept for Jerusalem. He wept sweat from his pores in Gethsemane. Jesus grieved.
Love is the willingness to embrace pain. Yes, it is patient, kind, never failing, and it is not easily angered. Each of those attributes requires an intentional willingness to hurt for someone else. Endurance, perseverance, forgiveness, trust…each takes a purposeful step of entering into pain. Blessed are those who mourn. Love is not weakness; it is strength. We have a strong God who loves us, even in the midst of our pain.
Pray for the Day:
Lord Jesus, give me the strength to love enough to grieve. Amen.
Leave a Reply