Embrace Another's Suffering

One of the things that has struck me over the last week is how unwilling we are to embrace the suffering of another. A friend of mine, Tyler, wrote an amazing piece about race. He's taken a lot of heat. I've seen friends write things and I've heard friends say things about race that have a lack of empathy.

Paul says,

If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. (1 Corinthians 12:26 ESV)

Are issues of race hard? In some ways yes, some ways no. But, this is the place to start. We must start here within the Church. We must start with Paul's statement, an indicative, that if one member of the body suffers, all suffer and its converse.

There is a sad reality in our country that our black brothers and sisters must face things and experience things that us white folk do not. We can't fix it by dwelling on the past or trying to display our "white guilt". What we can do is embrace the reality of suffering and listen and love well.

As another friend said, "Par for the course, I'm afraid, but the level of tone-deafness is appalling." Tone-deafness is the lack of entering in with another. We shouldn't expect the world to get this. Church, I expect you to get this. I expect more from us.

Our unwillingness to listen and embrace the suffering of one another is catastrophic.

Jesus said,

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35 ESV)

This week it may have been a little hard for people to know us. "By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."