Romans 12:14-16
"Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited."
It is not easy to rejoice and mourn with other people, for we are all self-centered. When we see others rejoice, it is unlikely for us to rejoice with them. Instead, we would feel a little bit jealous. We would even tell them to control their emotions and compose themselves. When we see someone mourn, we would show up as a tough person to offer sympathy and help to him. In the end those being helped got greatly hurt instead.
How can we rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn? First, we have to have compassion. May God bless us with his Spirit so that we can look at people around from God's perspective. The compassion of the Lord is different from ours. Our compassion is limited to only sympathy. The compassion of the Lord is his willingness to sacrifice himself in order to save others. What we need today is not the sympathy from a bystander, but the true love by living out the Word. Second, we need to pay the price of true intercession. When you see someone testify on how God answers his prayer in a cell group meeting, if you have never interceded for him, your reaction might be: "Really? Great! Praise the Lord!" But if you have interceded for him, then you would say: "Hallelujah, praise the Lord!" Only when we truly intercede, will it be possible for us to be connected to other brothers and sisters in spirit.
Third, we need to learn to let other people intercede for us. For example, when the time to bring up prayer items in a cell group meeting comes, most likely there would be dead silence, unless someone in illness or unemployment would ask for intercession. In fact, this silence symbolizes our pride. Only when we are willing to be broken, can we humble ourselves to accept others, just like how others accept us. Brothers and sisters, are you willing to practice and learn in spirit?
Pray with Pastor Tong Liu
Dear Lord, may you bless us with compassion in our heart so that we can humble ourselves and accept others' weakness. May you also put the burden of intercession in our heart, so that we can faithfully intercede for the brothers and sisters in need. May your love flow out through us. We thank you and we pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!
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