Hurting On Behalf of Another

I love to see it when one of our ministers is hurting because someone in the church/youth group/brotherhood they love is going through a tough time. We see it in prayer requests on social media, I hear it in your voice when you call and ask how to help someone in a specific setting. Frankly it is a thing of beauty. Not in some masochistic sort of way, I don’t like to see ministers suffer, but I do love it when you do the hard work of entering into someone else’s pain.   

See, ministry is expensive: It costs our hearts as we pour our emotions in to loving people who often will not appreciate or understand it. It costs our energies as we give our time and attention to those who are hurting. It costs our souls as we go hand to hand in combat with the enemy of all that is good. Yes, ministry is expensive.

And the truth is it’s like Jesus. Sympathy is sorrow that something has happened, empathy is feeling along with someones pain, compassion is stepping in to the pain of others to aid them. Jesus was moved with compassion and it cost Him much. But, it was worth it. And when you step into the pain of others, it will cost you too, but it will be worth it. 

Thank you for hurting on behalf of others. Don’t quit.