Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Romans 12:15
Right from the beginning of the Bible story, God models this for us. He comes down, takes a visible form, and walks with the man and the woman in the garden in the cool of the day (Gen. 3:8).
God came down and walked with them in their world because God is love. Love does more than watch from a distance. Love comes alongside and walks with others in the joys and the sorrows of their lives. This points forward to that great outpouring of love in which God actually became a man in Jesus Christ, entering our joys and sharing our pain.
John recorded seven miracles or signs of Jesus that point to who He is and what He does. The first of these signs took place at a wedding, and the last of them took place at a funeral. When Jesus turned water into wine at Cana, whose wedding was it? We don’t even know their names. They were just an ordinary couple, but Jesus entered the joy of their marriage.
When Jesus heard that His close friend, Lazarus, had died, He went to Bethany. Lazarus had been laid in the tomb, but the family was still mourning. His sister, Mary, came out to meet Jesus and John records, “When Jesus saw her weeping… he was deeply moved” (John 11:33). Then “Jesus wept” (11:35). Why would Jesus weep when He knew that He would soon raise Lazarus from the dead? Because Jesus truly enters our sorrow.
When someone you love dies, Jesus does not look down from heaven and say, “There’s no need for tears. It won’t be long until the resurrection.” He rejoices with those who rejoice, and He weeps with those who weep.
What joy or sorrow of yours would you like Jesus to enter into?
