To comfort as God comforts
A Simple Message
“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.”
– 2 Corinthians 1:3-4
The above passage offers a heartwarming comfort to the modern believer: the comfort of knowing our God comforts us.
Truly, the days we live in, we find tribulation to be ever present.
It seems every day presents some new political strife, corporate corruption, or natural or manmade disaster, and all on top of the day-to-day strife each of us faces individually.
It can be exhausting, indeed, I’ve spoken with many people who’ve said the same sorts of things.
So many say they find themselves struggling to focus, to keep up with all the tasks that need fulfilling, while being more forgetful and more stressed.
It’s an inevitable side effect of the troubles we face every day and the toll they take on us. So then, how great a blessing it is to know our God cares and our God comforts.
While this in itself is a truly wonderful blessing, the above passage offers more than a reminder; it gives an instruction. Just as God comforts us, we are commanded to comfort others.
In this, I find a high calling for the modern church of believers. What good is anything we do if we are failing to comfort those who suffer?
What good are our efforts as believers in Christ if we don’t do for others what Christ does for us? It is a high and difficult calling for us to comfort as God comforts.
It’s a calling that requires us to set aside our own feelings, our own wants, and our own needs to consider how we can make someone else’s life better. Does this mean we sell all we own and give the money all away?
Hardly. It simply means that when the opportunity presents itself to do the right thing, to say a kind word, to treat someone with compassion – we take it.
God comforts us without prejudice, without expectation of reward, and without complaint. Can we offer the same to those we love and to those we dislike?
Can we dedicate ourselves to making the daily effort to make the world around us a better place? Some advice I was once given: Always leave a place better than you found it.
What if we did the same to the people we meet?
The world would still have its tribulations, but I believe it would have more happiness, too.
