"Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her.
And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not.
And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise.
And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother."
Luke 7:12-15
What strikes me about this story today is the compassion that the Lord has for us. Even though in an eternal sense, everything we go through is a temporary tragedy, Christ has seen and suffered from our perspective. He understands, and he cares. He knew that this woman would have her son again in the eternities, but he had compassion on her pain in the moment, and blessed her to allow her son to return to her for a time. They rejoiced at their reunion, as they will rejoice again in the resurrection.
God knows that whatever we are going through right now is temporary... and even his solving of our problems in this life is temporary. But Christ still cares. He cares when our loved ones die. He cares when we are in pain... physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual. He always cares, even if he knows that everything will be better very soon. If we look to him, we can find comfort and compassion. We won't always be miraculously saved from every tragedy, but we can always be miraculously comforted, because unlike anyone else, Christ's atonement give him the ability to actually know what it is like for each of us. He does understand how we feel, and he has compassion for our struggles.
I wonder if today, we could work on being like Christ in just this way... to have compassion on the people around us. To see and understand how they are feeling, and help in whatever way we can. We probably won't be able to bring a son back to her widow in this exact way, and maybe our fixes can't be permanent either. But we can do a lot. We can make a difference. The first step is to see: to notice the suffering around us, then to have compassion and care about that person who is in pain. Then, to do whatever we can to lighten the burden. In this way, we can follow Christ's example, and make the world a better place, today.
And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not.
And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise.
And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother."
Luke 7:12-15
What strikes me about this story today is the compassion that the Lord has for us. Even though in an eternal sense, everything we go through is a temporary tragedy, Christ has seen and suffered from our perspective. He understands, and he cares. He knew that this woman would have her son again in the eternities, but he had compassion on her pain in the moment, and blessed her to allow her son to return to her for a time. They rejoiced at their reunion, as they will rejoice again in the resurrection.
God knows that whatever we are going through right now is temporary... and even his solving of our problems in this life is temporary. But Christ still cares. He cares when our loved ones die. He cares when we are in pain... physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual. He always cares, even if he knows that everything will be better very soon. If we look to him, we can find comfort and compassion. We won't always be miraculously saved from every tragedy, but we can always be miraculously comforted, because unlike anyone else, Christ's atonement give him the ability to actually know what it is like for each of us. He does understand how we feel, and he has compassion for our struggles.
I wonder if today, we could work on being like Christ in just this way... to have compassion on the people around us. To see and understand how they are feeling, and help in whatever way we can. We probably won't be able to bring a son back to her widow in this exact way, and maybe our fixes can't be permanent either. But we can do a lot. We can make a difference. The first step is to see: to notice the suffering around us, then to have compassion and care about that person who is in pain. Then, to do whatever we can to lighten the burden. In this way, we can follow Christ's example, and make the world a better place, today.
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