One of my daily verses recently was the well-known one from Romans 12:15: “Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep.” [HCSB]
It is drawn from a paragraph about Christian ethics. I think it may have been chosen because of the images and news coming out of Uvalde, Texas, where a gunman took the lives of nineteen children and two teachers. That was Tuesday, May 24.
Thursday, May 26, I talked to and prayed with a friend who recently got a stage 3 cancer diagnosis.
Saturday, May 28, I messaged a friend on Facebook who struggles with constant pain.
Sunday, May 29, I learned that the daughter of a friend had died unexpectedly.
Monday, May 30, is Memorial Day where we remember those servicemen and servicewomen who gave all.
Paul tells us that we are to rejoice with those who are rejoicing. That is pretty easy to do. Everyone like a party to celebrate something wonderful and good. But we are also to weep with those who weep. That does not mean we are to weep with them just one time, or two times, or three, and then abandon them. It means that however long they weep, we are to be by their side weeping with them.
Jesus stood outside the tomb of Lazarus, and He wept – even though He knew He was going to raise Lazarus from that tomb. There were two reactions to His weeping … “So the Jews said, ‘See how He loved him!’ But some of them said, ‘Couldn’t He who opened the blind man’s eyes also have kept this man from dying?’” [John 11:36 HCSB]
Some blamed Him for not keeping Lazarus from dying (but then He raised him from the dead so I guess that was just as good). Others saw His compassion and love in His tears. And didn’t Jesus say the world would know us by our love?