Revelation 21:4
He will wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying, nor pain. All of that has gone forever.”
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
I’ve tried to think of a dozen different ways to talk about this scripture passage today, but I keep circling back around to one particular thought. So I am going to assume that this is what God wants me to talk about and run with it! I am a fan of a Bravo TV show called “Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles.” On this show, a young realtor named Josh Flagg is featured. Frequently, his grandmother, Edith, is also showcased. For a long time, Josh Flagg lived in the same apartment building as his grandmother Edith…she occupied the penthouse – he lived a few floors below. It was not uncommon for Josh to drop everything and visit Edith – even late at night, wearing his pajamas!
Edith Flagg survived the Holocaust in Germany and emigrated to the United States after the WWII, with $2 in her pocket. Through hard work and determination, she built a name for herself in the fashion industry. Her business acumen and reasoning were amazing, and she often advised her grandson about real estate deals with flair and a no-nonsense delivery.
Edith Flagg died on August 13, 2014, at the age of 94. Mention has been made of her physical decline during this season’s episodes, and news of her passing was incorporated into last night’s airing. In one segment, Josh talked tearfully of how his grandmother had broken a hip then developed pneumonia, and things did not look good. Then in another segment, he received “the call” to come quickly and be with Edith. He sat through the night with her before she died around 6:00 a.m. No effort was made to downplay this young man’s grief – nor to hide it from public view. And yet, I did not find his treatment by the network to be exploitive. We saw Josh Flagg sitting with his partner, tears pouring from his face as he talked of how important Edith had been in his life…studying pictures of the two of them together…and wondering how life could ever be happy again without her to guide and delight him.
I wanted to reach through the television screen and wipe his tears. I wanted to hold this young man’s hand and console him…to tell him that his grandmother’s legacy and the lessons she gave to him will live on…that happy times will come again someday…that everything will be alright. But of course, I could not do this. And there are plenty of times when we are not able to console another, for a myriad of reasons. Quite honestly, this is not our job!
We cannot promise that there will be no heartaches…no sorrows, pain or crying. We most certainly cannot promise that there will be no more death. In fact, death is one thing that is pretty well certain for all of us! The only One who can truly “wipe away our tears” and make these promises is God…and He offers us this hope through the blood of Jesus and the assurance that we will spend eternity with Him in heaven.
God can often use us to console others…to wipe away their tears and make them feel better in any given moment. But understand that we are not the ones doing this…we are merely the vehicle for God’s love, care, healing and restoration. And in recognizing this, I realized that I can pray for this young man in Los Angeles – and his family – and ask God to send consolation for them. I can ask God to wipe away his tears and to fill him with hope and peace…to flood his heart with happy memories and sound advice…to help him to feel his grandmother’s hand guiding him each and every day.
We can all do this for others – many times each day, in a dozen different ways. We can stop and say a quick prayer for another person – even someone we only know from a television show. We can ask God to show us what to say and do to convey His healing power… to “wipe away the tears” in His name…and to offer the hope of a day when there truly will be no more sickness, sorrow, tears, grief and death. We can live with this hope in our own lives and demonstrate it to others, so that they might truly believe in God’s promises and claim them for themselves.
It’s a pretty sure bet that God has wiped your tears at one time or another. Now it’s your turn to pay it forward...to share His love and care with another and offer him/her the promise of a brighter day in Christ Jesus. Are you up for the challenge?
©2014 Debbie Robus
Showing posts with label sharing each other's burdens. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sharing each other's burdens. Show all posts
Daily Devotional for January 26, 2014
Galatians 6:1-3
Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important.
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
You messed up…made a big mistake. Maybe you broke the law, or you broke a promise. You hurt someone deeply…you betrayed family members, friends, co-workers. And now you are paying for your offense…in more ways than you ever imagined. The “obvious consequences” are bad enough…citations, court appearances – maybe even jail, loss of a job, getting kicked out of school, the break-up of a marriage or relationship - to name a few. But you didn’t expect the alienation and loneliness that has come with it. You didn’t realize that people would treat you like a pariah…or worse! Where are your friends? Why has your family distanced themselves from you? What happened to all of those co-workers or team mates who always wanted to socialize – at work and afterward?
There are consequences for mistakes…sometimes big ones. And many people do not consider the cost until after the fact. But the Bible tells us that as Christians, we have an obligation not to pile trouble upon trouble. In fact, we are to reach out to those who are hurting…those who have fallen…the ones on whom the rest of the world has turned its back. This doesn’t mean we are to condone their misdeeds. But we are to remind them that Jesus has not left them…and neither will we.
Think of yourself driving down the highway. You are cruising along - maybe even daydreaming a little. You top a hill and see the blue lights of a police car that has another car pulled over, and instinctively, you apply your brakes. You look at your speedometer and realize that YOU were speeding, too. Admit it…as you pass the two cars on the side of the road, you look at the poor guy who has gotten caught, and you shake your head – at least a little. And you probably say, “That easily could have been me.”
See, this is the thing. We are all one misstep away from needing mercy and grace from others…and honestly, we are all in need of daily mercy from Jesus – if not minute-by-minute! Jesus would never shun us. There are plenty of times when we disappoint Him – even anger Him – with our thoughts, words and actions. But Jesus never leaves us. He still visits us in the “jail cell” of our guilt and embarrassment – if not literally. Jesus still demonstrates love, compassion, and caring – even when we don’t deserve it. And we must do this for others.
So the person who hurt you so badly or caused great difficulties for others in his/her job, family life, friendships, athletic team – or church group – doesn’t deserve a “free pass”. But he/she does need our compassion…a smile…a hug…an “I love you and I’m praying for you”…and maybe even an “I forgive you.” The person who “got pulled over” needs to know that you still care about him/her…that nothing is too big for Jesus to forgive…and that we are seeing the person – not their sin. If we can do this, at least two things will happen: 1) our act of compassion may be the very catalyst for a change in this person; and 2) we will have helped to set the stage for our own mercy and understanding if/when we need it.
As this scripture points out, none of us is “that important!” Certainly none of us is above reproach…and there isn’t a single one of us who deserves Jesus’ mercy and compassion more than another. Jesus would never play favorites...so why would we?
Who needs to hear from you today? Where do you need to step forward…be bold…and approach someone on whom others have turned their backs? How will you help someone shoulder a burden today? What is Jesus calling you to do - and will you answer?
©2014 Debbie Robus
Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important.
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
You messed up…made a big mistake. Maybe you broke the law, or you broke a promise. You hurt someone deeply…you betrayed family members, friends, co-workers. And now you are paying for your offense…in more ways than you ever imagined. The “obvious consequences” are bad enough…citations, court appearances – maybe even jail, loss of a job, getting kicked out of school, the break-up of a marriage or relationship - to name a few. But you didn’t expect the alienation and loneliness that has come with it. You didn’t realize that people would treat you like a pariah…or worse! Where are your friends? Why has your family distanced themselves from you? What happened to all of those co-workers or team mates who always wanted to socialize – at work and afterward?
There are consequences for mistakes…sometimes big ones. And many people do not consider the cost until after the fact. But the Bible tells us that as Christians, we have an obligation not to pile trouble upon trouble. In fact, we are to reach out to those who are hurting…those who have fallen…the ones on whom the rest of the world has turned its back. This doesn’t mean we are to condone their misdeeds. But we are to remind them that Jesus has not left them…and neither will we.
Think of yourself driving down the highway. You are cruising along - maybe even daydreaming a little. You top a hill and see the blue lights of a police car that has another car pulled over, and instinctively, you apply your brakes. You look at your speedometer and realize that YOU were speeding, too. Admit it…as you pass the two cars on the side of the road, you look at the poor guy who has gotten caught, and you shake your head – at least a little. And you probably say, “That easily could have been me.”
See, this is the thing. We are all one misstep away from needing mercy and grace from others…and honestly, we are all in need of daily mercy from Jesus – if not minute-by-minute! Jesus would never shun us. There are plenty of times when we disappoint Him – even anger Him – with our thoughts, words and actions. But Jesus never leaves us. He still visits us in the “jail cell” of our guilt and embarrassment – if not literally. Jesus still demonstrates love, compassion, and caring – even when we don’t deserve it. And we must do this for others.
So the person who hurt you so badly or caused great difficulties for others in his/her job, family life, friendships, athletic team – or church group – doesn’t deserve a “free pass”. But he/she does need our compassion…a smile…a hug…an “I love you and I’m praying for you”…and maybe even an “I forgive you.” The person who “got pulled over” needs to know that you still care about him/her…that nothing is too big for Jesus to forgive…and that we are seeing the person – not their sin. If we can do this, at least two things will happen: 1) our act of compassion may be the very catalyst for a change in this person; and 2) we will have helped to set the stage for our own mercy and understanding if/when we need it.
As this scripture points out, none of us is “that important!” Certainly none of us is above reproach…and there isn’t a single one of us who deserves Jesus’ mercy and compassion more than another. Jesus would never play favorites...so why would we?
Who needs to hear from you today? Where do you need to step forward…be bold…and approach someone on whom others have turned their backs? How will you help someone shoulder a burden today? What is Jesus calling you to do - and will you answer?
©2014 Debbie Robus
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