2 Cor. 1:7 And Our Hope For You Is Firm, Because We Know That Just As You Share In Our Sufferings, So Also You Share In Our Comfort.

We can find it difficult to share in the suffering of others when we are suffering ourselves. We can find it difficult to show compassion or feel compassion for others if we are hurting too. However, we must go beyond our present hurt and suffering to a place in our mind and heart where we both understand and accept into ourselves the hurt of others. To only feel our own pain is small. To reach out in compassion and love, even when we hurt, is big. What this verse calls us to do is to go beyond ourselves in our thoughts and feelings for others. We move closer to heaven when we place ourselves along side the pain of others. When we come to fully understand the hurt of others, we also can begin to understand the sufferings of Christ on the cross for us.