Jesus Knows Our Pain

 

        It’s been a year!  Just about a year ago the first of the quarantine shut down’s occurred here in the States.  Since then there have many more ‘shut down’s and ‘closings’ including our school systems, visitations at hospitals and nursing homes, even being able to stay with someone in the Emergency Room has, in many places come to a complete halt.  It’s been frustrating and on some levels, frightening.

Add to these disruptions in our world, is the toll it’s taken on lives.  I have no blame to place, it’s just an element of life we’ve all had to endure.  I’m sure there are few families who haven’t had to deal with a death of a loved one somewhere in their family line.  If a family was spared, certainly they could name a friend or two who wasn’t!

We all suffer through tragedy.  That is a fact of life.  We all mourn when we lose a loved one.  It’s a wondrous thing to know that even in our grief, God was and is always with us.  I’ve read of families (pre-pandemic) who stood by their mother’s side as she passed over, or those who lost a father.  Still there are families who have lost their young ones, through an accident or other horrific event.  

How do we go on?  John 11:35 says “Jesus wept.”  Lazarus had passed on to glory and Jesus’ heart grieved the loss.  If Christ can grieve at loss, certainly we can.  But more than this, we can know that He knows how loss feels.  He knows and understands pain and mourning.  This knowledge and his love for us, enables him to comfort us in ways no human person can understand.  It just is.

But as humans, it’s important to remember that we are to share sadness together, just as we share happy times.  How we ‘share’ is unique to each person’s personality, but a card, a phone call, a meal, a visit, or other expression of love and concern can help dull the ache, just a little.

Even when we aren’t talking of death, pain is real in the lives of many we know.  Sometimes dulling an ache is simply in ‘listening’ to a friend’s heart, as they share their situation or distress.  We are a people who are supposed to ‘be there’ for each other.  Sometimes we get so caught up in our own world or situation, we neglect to reach out to others, even when we know there are problems.

Yet we live in a culture who often chooses to be private about the trials we bear.  While we need to respect that attitude, we always have the opportunity to pray, and otherwise just let them know, we’re available should they need us without intruding on their need for privacy.

How well do you know your church family?  Would you even be aware if someone needed you?  Do you know when someone is slipping away from the faith? Do you know when a family is disintegrating?  Knowing our brothers and sisters in the faith is a charge we should keep.  How well are we doing that?