One of Jessica’s favorite activities is playing “bobbies” (her word for “babies”). We have several baby dolls, some doll-sized equipment, and a thousand little outfits and accessories. Jessica loves taking care of her dolls, doing all the things with them she knows mommies do with babies.
One day, Jessica and I were playing dolls in the playroom. We had a few dolls spread out around us, and we were taking care of them all. I put two of the smallest ones in the doll swing, which is not balanced very well, and swung them until they fell out.
“Waah! Waah!” I said, pretending they were crying.
Jessica reached toward them.
“Help us, Jessica!” I said, in my best baby doll voice.
Jessica picked up the babies and handed them to me without hesitation. She watched me as I comforted them and made them feel all better.
In the same way that Jessica handed me her babies, we, too, should bring our broken, hurting loved ones to our Father. Instinctively, Jessica knew that the best comfort for those babies was to be found in my arms. Likewise, we know that the greatest healing is to be found in the arms of our heavenly Father. Yet too often, we focus on offering our friends other things rather than bringing them to God. All of these things—our support, counseling, medication—are fine in and of themselves, and they may be the means through which God chooses to heal our loved one. But we make a critical mistake when we do these things to the exclusion of pointing our loved one to Jesus.
It’s wonderful to offer our empathy, but let us not forget also to remind our loved one how God feels.
It’s great to offer sympathy, but let’s not fail to gently correct or rebuke where that may be needed, and to point our loved one toward God’s righteous standard.
It’s healing to help our family and friends through their struggles on this earth, but may we never forget to remind them of heaven, where “there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain”.
I’m not suggesting that we listen to someone’s pain and offer them a pat, religious answer, or a cliché. I’m suggesting that we do every bit of the kind of comforting and encouragement we are used to, but that we also offer them more. We bring them to God.
Of course, the ultimate “bringing to God” involves introducing someone to Him, to His love for them and their need of Him, and to His wonderful plan of salvation.
Providing comfort is part of the healing ministry of Christ’s church. It’s something we must do, because humanity needs it, and we’re commanded to do it. But even more important than comforting their souls is introducing them to the One Who can save their souls.
The next time someone comes to us for comfort, may we comfort them in a way that shows them God’s love.
But even more important, may we show them God Himself.
John 1:40-42—Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus.
Mark 2:1-5—A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. So many gathered that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”