Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.
As members of the body of Christ, we have a unique relationship to each other as spiritual brothers and sisters. In this life many trials and tribulations have come and will come our way, and the Lord has given us a special bond in Him to help care for each other in time of need. When we are walking in the Spirit and Christ’s love is dwelling in us, we are joyful when a brother or sister is joyful; and likewise when one of our brother’s or sister’s hurt, so do we. We see this principle when the apostle Paul describes the body of Christ in 1st Corinthians.
1 Corinthians 12:26
And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honored, all the members rejoice with it.
We see this working in the apostle Paul throughout his epistles, as his care and concern for his brothers and sisters in every assembly is made known. An example of his rejoicing with his brothers and sisters is seen in Philippians.
Philippians 1:3-5
I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy. For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now.
An example of his concern with a brother who is hurting in 2nd Timothy.
2 Timothy 1:3-4
I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day; Greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy.
Regardless of whether a brother or sister is joyful or sorrowful we see Paul continuously praying for them. We also see Epaphras doing this.
Colossians 4:12
Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always laboring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.
As members of Christ body, we have different gifts from the Holy Spirit, and can function differently when a brother or sister is in difficult times. Some of us may send an email or card, some of us may visit the brother or sister, some of us may help financially, some of us may offer experience learned from God’s Word, but no matter what, all of us have the privilege of offering up prayers for the brother or sister in distress, and we can do this continuously throughout the day.
When we pray to God the Father, we access his throne of grace, through our mediator the Lord Jesus Christ, for it is through His death, burial, and resurrection, that we have been made accepted in Him and have access to God. How wonderful then to see that during our Lord’s earthly ministry, when Lazarus had died, and his sisters were hurting and sorrowing for their brother, we read what our Lord Jesus felt.
John 11:33-36
When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled, and said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see. Jesus wept. Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him!
This defines the latter part of our opening verse, weep with those that weep. The Lord Jesus Christ knew he was about to raise Lazarus from the dead, He groaned in the spirit, was troubled, and wept because of how much Mary and the Jews sorrow touched Him.
May the love of Christ work through us in this same way towards each other, and upon every hearing of our fellow saints’ spiritual or physical joys or sorrows may we continually pray for one another.
In the Lord Jesus Christ,
Derrick
A study of the Sword 