Walking side by side in a journey of faith

How great a joy it is to be surrounded by one another, those who walk side by side with us in this journey of faith. 

Today, I call to action a practice that is often overlooked these days and that is; a recognition of our brothers' hearts and emotions, their joys, and their sorrows. These are subjects that we must give great value to, for when we unify as one body, their joys become our own, and their sorrows as well. So what do I mean by this? 

As the word states,”Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep." (‭‭Romans‬ ‭12‬:‭15‬ ‭ESV‬‬)

It seems like such a simple instruction, and yet, at times we fall away from it. Perhaps a person's pain brings us discomfort, and so we retract or even laugh for lack of knowledge on how to interact. This is not right, but instead, we are to be moved with compassion as Jesus was, for when He saw the broken, the hurting, the rejected, it was His compassion that brought life, healing, and acceptance.

And how often, I ask, and confess, have we seen a brother in joy whilst we are in sorrow, and our instinct is to say, “well why not me?” And we grow resentful, instead of uplifting? How can this be? How can we so quickly fall away from rejoicing with our brother? Well, I think the one affects the other. 

When we learn to mourn when others mourn, it teaches them to rejoice when we rejoice. And when we learn to rejoice with one another, in turn we learn to mourn with one another. Again, it comes back to that word, “compassion."

If we can learn to have a heart, that is compassionate, a heart that meditates on someone else instead of on ourselves, it creates a body that functions fully. For when the feet move, it is not to reach their own destination but to bring the fully functioning body to where it must be. For how often must the hand attend to the feet, or the back, or the head? 

How many times do we see the eyes give way to where we walk, or the nose give warning to what we taste? See compassion is just one more thing that leads us back into unity with one another. 

We cannot allow even one brother to go unheard, to be uncelebrated, to be an island in the midst of tragedy, and in the midst of victory. 

For it is through unity, it is through compassion, it is through Love, that Christ will reign in our churches, in our cities, and in our nations. So again I say, let us bring our hearts back to one another, and then, we shall see that they find their way back to the heart of our God.

Justin Gardner pastors at River of Life Fellowship, 702 Church St., Sandpoint. The church can be reached at 208-255-7111.