Compassion And Comfort: Beneath The Cross

COMPASSION AND COMFORTBeneath The CrossShe sat alone by the window looking out across the fields. The house was strangely quiet. Yesterday her husband of more than fifty years had been buried. She was trying to be brave, but she knew that life was going to be different. She glanced at an old picture of him on the mantel and blinked back a tear. Nobody could take his place in her life. On the table were the cards she had received. “With deepest sympathy,” said one. Inside was her sister’s handwritten message: “May you really know God’s comfort in your sad loss.” The writing was uneven because her sister was 85 and suffering from arthritis. She had lost her husband long before - killed in the war after only three years of marriage. She knew what sorrow was all about. “Deepest sympathy” and “God’s comfort” were two things she desperately needed right now. Meanwhile a young man made his way along a busy street in a nearby town. His shoulders sagged, and he dragged his feet as though walking was an effort. If anyone had studied his expression and his manner they would have realized that something was wrong. Although in a crowd, the young man felt very much alone. He had just been told by his doctor that he had cancer and could not expect to live long. How could he break that news to his wife when he reached home? What could he say to his children? “If only somebody understood,” he thought as he trudged on, immersed in bleak thoughts about his own future. Fictitious cases? Perhaps, but these two illustrations are not very far removed from the real life experiences of many people. Bereavement, terminal illness, unemployment, tragedy, and disability are found in many homes. Countless individuals crave understanding, sympathy, and comfort and long to know that someone cares. The world often seems like such a hard place. Is there no comfort for people with hearts that ache? Where To Turn
In his second letter to the Corinthians, Paul answers this desperate cry for help. He tells us that comfort is available for any of God’s people. This is what Paul wrote: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ” (2 Cor. 1:3-5 NKJV). After a brief introductory greeting and his usual salutation of grace and peace, Paul at once launched into an anthem of praise to God. It is not the blessings of salvation that occupy him here as they do in Ephesians 1:3. Rather, it is a grateful response of thanksgiving to “the God ... of all comfort” for comfort that Paul himself had experienced. In these few verses Paul explains both the resource and the responsibility. The Resource
Comfort is something we all need at one time or another. Jeremiah (known as “the weeping prophet”) longed for comfort. As he considered the plight of his own disobedient people he wept aloud and exclaimed: “I would comfort myself in sorrow” (Jer. 8:18). But like us all, Jeremiah could not do that. We have no capacity to minister to our own inner needs. Our human resources are limited and inadequate. “Is there no balm in Gilead?” Jeremiah asked (Jer. 8:22). Yes, there is a balm to soothe the troubled spirit. Our God, who is distinctly identified as “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,” is “the Father of mercies and God of all comfort” (2 Cor. 1:3). His “mercies” refer to the compassion He has for the ills of mankind. Being the Father of mercies tells us that compassion finds its origin in Him. He is “the God of all comfort” and can come to our side at times of need and minister to us in our deepest sorrow. All that we need is found in Him. He is “the Source of every consolation and comfort and encouragement” according to the Amplified Version. Psalm 103:13 puts it this way: “As a father pities his children, so the Lord pities those who fear Him.” Jeremiah adds that “His compassions fail not; they are new every morning” (Lam. 3:22-23). How great is His faithfulness! Paul’s Experience
In his letter, Paul writes that God “comforts us in all our tribulation” (2 Cor. 1:4). What he means is that in the pressures that burden our spirits and cast us down, the Lord comes to our side to help us. Really? Yes, Paul had proved this on many occasions. He knew what it meant to be “hard pressed on every side ... perplexed ... persecuted ... struck down” (2 Cor. 4:8-9). He was beaten, stoned, shipwrecked, confronted by perils of all kinds and drained spiritually, emotionally, and psychologically with his “deep concern for all the churches” (2 Cor. 11:25-28). These experiences would be enough to deflate the buoyant spirit of any enthusiastic Christian, yet Paul could testify that he was “not crushed ... not in despair ... not forsaken ... not destroyed” (2 Cor. 4:8-9). The trials of life are relatively light and momentary when compared with the “eternal weight of glory” (2 Cor. 4:17). Paul could only write in this way because he knew the personal comfort of his God “in all ... tribulation.” No situation can be excluded. Supplies of “grace ... and peace” are freely available for all believers, for they come to us “from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Cor. 1:2). The Responsibility
Why does God comfort us? It is not that we might simply be made comfortable. His purpose is that we might become comforters of others. As “the God of all comfort” comes alongside us in our time of deep need, He comforts us so that “we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God” (2 Cor. 1:4). Just as we are to be holy because He is holy (1 Pet. 1:16), so God intends us to be comforters like Himself. Paul was quick to point out that, humanly speaking, such a ministry is beyond us. Divine help is most certainly needed: “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves ... but our sufficiency is from God” (2 Cor. 3:5). The Holy Spirit is called “the Comforter” (Jn. 14:16-17 kjv). He indwells each believer and equips us to help others in their need. Hardships
The Christian life is not an easy one. The Lord Jesus informed His followers that they must expect the same treatment that He had received in the world (Jn. 15:18-20). He was “a man of sorrows” (Isa. 53:3). No human mind can fathom the depth of those sorrows. Yet His sorrows never made Him blind to the needs of others. As our Savior hung upon the cross He saw Mary His mother and tenderly committed her to the care of the beloved John (Jn. 19:25-27). He knew the personal anguish she was experiencing just then - and He brought comfort to her. The Scriptures teach that we must have the “mind” of Christ (Phil. 2:5). We must have His attitude. Like Him, we must consider the needs of others (Phil. 2:4). Therefore, look out for the bereaved, the sorrowful, the broken-hearted, and seek to bring the comfort of the Lord to them. Comfort is not easy, but it is real and is born out of a deep sense of care. The Reason Why
Sometimes we wonder why the Lord allows sorrow to enter our lives. Why must we experience bereavement, pain and loss? His purpose is that He wants us to be more Christ-like. Also, He wants us to prove His grace and comfort in a personal way so that we may be able to understand the needs of others more fully, and comfort them. Many believers can testify to the fact that if they had not experienced some deep personal sorrow in which they proved the Lord, they would not have been able to help other people. Having experienced His love and compassion in their need, they find that their hearts are touched by someone else’s sorrow; and the person in need instantly realizes that the one who is helping has trodden that path of sorrow too. Do your own problems seem excessive? Then God’s comfort is excessive too! In 2 Corinthians 1:4-7 “comfort” and other related words are found at least ten times, whereas “trouble” and “tribulation” are only mentioned seven times. The encouragement available is greater than our sorrow. Look again at the Lord Jesus displaying compassion. Receive His comfort in your need by drawing close to Him. And then, seeing others in need, “go and do likewise” (Lk. 10:37). By Martin Girard