Verse By Verse Devotional On 2 Corinthians By Pastor Jack #9

Acknowledging the Sufferings of Others

1:6-7 "But if we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; or if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which is effective in the patient enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer; and our hope for you is firmly grounded, knowing that as you are sharers of our sufferings, so also you are sharers of our comfort."

Here and elsewhere Paul makes a point of acknowledging the sufferings of his readers. It is an important thing to do.

Paul’s sufferings far exceeded anything the Corinthians had experienced (see 2Cor.11:23-33). And yet he says they are experiencing "the same sufferings which we also suffer" and "are sharers of our sufferings."

It is an important step of love to acknowledge the plight and the pain of those we seek to help. If we make light of their sufferings, we will not gain a hearing for our words of comfort.

So, love often begins with listening. It begins with identifying with the plight of other people. It begins with recognizing that they are a part of the cursed reality of human life, and as such that they taste of suffering and pain and sadness as we all do. If we are quick to make light of their grief because it is overshadowed by our own, then we fail to love and really are just looking to be loved.

If people aren’t convinced that we really care about them and what they’re experiencing, they will not be open to whatever solutions we bring. We need therefore to take care to connect with their plight, to show compassion for them in their situation, to feel the burden of what they’re experiencing. Maybe once they see our willingness to open our hearts toward their pain, they will open their hearts toward our message of hope.

Forgive me, Lord, for all the times I have been so self-absorbed that I have been uninterested in the plight of others. Thank You that You are never uninterested in my plight. You are a God of compassion, please make me compassionate. Please teach me to listen, Lord, and to be willing to carry the burdens of others for the sake of Christ. Open my heart toward others, and open the hearts of others toward the Christ whom I serve and preach.