God Enters Our Suffering
God Enters Our Suffering
When Jesus was crucified, God entered fully into the suffering of all humanity. In our own suffering, we do not suffer alone. God enters into our suffering with us.
In Philippians 2:1-11, Paul calls us to have the mind of Christ, to empty and humble ourselves as Jesus did, to have compassion, suffering with another person.
We have all heard of medical workers and caregivers who risk themselves to care for those who are suffering. They enter the suffering of others, caring for their needs. This is how God enters into our suffering to suffer with us.
Compassion means to “suffer with” another person. Even in this time of physical distancing, we can still find ways to connect with those who suffer, to enter into their suffering with them – by telephone, with a note or card, or by praying for them.
When we are able to connect our suffering is shared, we suffer as one together.
Richard Rohr said, “God is suffering love. If we are created in God’s image, and if there is so much suffering in the world, then God must also be suffering.”
Let the mind of Christ be in you as you enter your neighbor’s suffering. Let us suffer together as one in Christ, knowing that God is suffering with us.
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Greg Smith
Director of Legacy Ministry
First Baptist Church of Decatur