Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her.
When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.”
Luke 7:11-13
A devotional planner I once used had a very good definition for love: It is “an intense feeling of tender affection and compassion for someone.” The comment:
“People are longing to be accepted. When we show care and concern for them they will find their deepest emotional needs being met.”
And don’t we all hunger for this kind of acceptance? Unfortunately, there is a lot of misunderstanding of those who are different. So, we often don’t accept them. And how very painful that is for them! It increases the suffering they might already going through.
I’m praying that people will try to put themselves in our shoes and understand the pain we must be feeling.
But the Bible has told us how we who suffer are often the best equipped to show this kind of love to others though we ourselves might be struggling. We would bless others if we could give them the kind of unconditional love we ourselves long for. As we bless others, we ourselves will also be blessed.
We need to love each other. Not only people like ourselves, but all the people in the world. Because all of us need love. If all of us could only remember that the love of Christ is something we can always count on, though it’s often so hard to perceive.
If you decide you would like to follow Jesus’ example, I hope you will look at the stories about him and see how he loved others unconditionally—all kinds of people. I hope you will take that love into your heart and pass it on to the people around you.
Jesus’ heart went out to the woman who had lost her only son. “Don’t cry,” he said. Do you hear the compassion?
Are you hurting in some way? Jesus understands what you feel. He tells you too, “Don’t cry.” Jesus cares more than anyone else could. And He will never leave you.
marja
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