What is a considerate heart?
Have you ever been so excited about something that you just couldn’t wait to tell someone? Maybe you aced a test, got a job promotion, or perhaps, purchased a new car. But when you shared your big news, the other person didn’t share in your excitement or react with the enthusiasm you had expected. Or how about the extreme opposite… You were upset, maybe overcome with sorrow and crying, and the person you shared with didn’t seem to care or understand. Or possibly it wasn’t that the person did not care, but instead of the comfort you had hoped for, you received a tutorial on how you should have felt. I know I have been in both of those situations. I remember as a child with OCD being in a panic because I could not overcome the cycling thoughts of worry, and my dad telling me to ‘just stop it.’ Now, as I look back, I know he meant no harm, nor did he intend to be inconsiderate of my feelings. He was my dad, and he thought he was supposed to fix it… that was his way of fixing it. But then, if I’m honest, I’m sure I have also been that person who didn’t react the way I should have… instead of being the person who just listened or cried with them… I thought I could come up with the words to fix the problem.
However, this past week, my verse to memorize was Romans 12:15, which says, “Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep” (KJV). These are powerful instructions, conveying the type of bonding relationship, love, and sincere compassion that we should share as followers of Jesus united in the body of Christ.
In Luke, chapter ten, when the seventy, who Jesus had chosen and sent out to spread the message, returned, they were excited. Luke 10:17 details, “And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name” (KJV). And then we are told in Luke 10:21, “In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit…” (KJV). The seventy were excited. They had followed instructions, gone out and done the work they were called to do, and they were rejoicing in the results… and Jesus was rejoicing too. (See Luke 10).
And then in John, chapter eleven, we learn about the death of Lazarus. John 11:33 describes the display of sorrow as it says, “When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled” (KJV). And then in John 11:35, we see the compassion in the simple words, “Jesus wept” (KJV). He cared so deeply that when He saw them crying and in sorrow, He wept with them.
As I was reciting my verse aloud this past Monday, my friend began texting me. And I immediately thought of how she actively models the words in this verse. If I have exciting news, the words of her text are so vivid and full of emotion that I can literally see her jumping for joy with me. And when I am sad or worried, her sincerity is like none I have ever known because she doesn’t just say that she will pray… she types out her heartfelt prayer so that I can pray it along with her… and she continuously follows up with other prayers and sincere concern.
So, starting today, may we show the sincere love of Christ, and “Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep” (Romans 12:15 KJV).
