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"Jesus Can Empathize"
Sympathy/Empathy …what is the difference? "Sympathy" means that I feel sorry for another because of their personal circumstances. "Empathy" means that I can feel sorry for them because I can put myself in their place as I have been there also.
I recently read a story about an eight-year-old boy who went to the pet store with his dad to buy a puppy. The store had lots of puppies so the manager showed them to a cage where five little puppies were romping with each other. After a few minutes the boy noticed one puppy all by itself in an adjacent cage.
The boy asked, "Why is that puppy all alone?" The manager explained, "That puppy was born with a deformed leg and would be crippled for life, so we're going to have to put him to sleep."
"You're going to kill this puppy?" the boy said sadly. "You have to realize that this puppy would never be able to run and play with a boy like you so no one would want him," the manager said.
After a short conversation with his son, the dad told the manager that they wanted to buy the puppy with the deformed leg. "For the same amount of money you could have one of the healthy ones," the manager said. "Why do you want this one?"
To answer the manager's question, the boy bent over and pulled up his right pant leg and exposed a brace on his own deformed leg. He said, "Mister, I want this one because I know what he's going through."
The Hebrew writer tells us in chapter 4 and verse 15 that we have a Lord and Savior who knows what we are going through in our struggles because He went through it as well, but never lost His self-control. He was "in all points tempted as we are yet without sin.
Sometimes we feel as though nobody cares about us and we start feeling discouraged and depressed. Jesus, who listens in on our prayers and pleads our case with His Father, sticks out his hands and raises his feet so we can see the nail prints. He bows his head so we can see where the crown of thorns was pressed down. He turns around so we can see the scars covering his back, and then He says, "I know what you're going through!" Put your faith in the Lord Jesus.
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Neely's Bend Church of Christ
1502 Neely's Bend
Madison, Tennessee 37115
Phone (615) 865-1836
Email us here
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