Empathetic Church

Some people wont get this, but when we can ignore the tears of our brothers and sisters in Christ we have ignored a part of the body of Christ.

I have seen it over the years; Christians railing against the poor and homeless on the street. Encountering the homeless, these professing believers say things like, ” if they can hold a sign, they can work;” or quote their favorite biblical text on the subject: “If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat!” (2 Thessalonians 3:10) Compassionless Christianity is as unbiblical as the professing body of Christ when it fails to empathize with the separate parts of that body.

What I’m writing about isn’t social justice or a social gospel, this is Christianity 101! Consider this text from Paul to the believers at Corinth:

“For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. For in fact the body is not one member but many.” (1 Corinthians 12:12-14)

To be honest, regarding the outcry concerning racism and inequality in our nation today, I could not see and perhaps still don’t see racism in the church as much as I see a total lack of empathy for Christian brothers and sisters who are hurting. In my time, I have seen black people, white people and Hispanic people who were only willing to worship “with their own kind.”

In the past, Southern Baptists attempted to bridge the gap with something like a racial reconciliation day, where whole churches would close on a given Sunday to worship with another culturally different congregation. But such efforts are often seen as pandering and offensive by the “other” race; this is NOT the body of Christ as He intended it to be!

The body of Christ is not black, white, yellow, or brown! It IS diverse but it is NOT to be racially divided it shares one essence, one lifes blood, one purpose and it has one head – Jesus Christ! Paul continues:

“But now indeed there are many members, yet one body. And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary. And those members of the body which we think to be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor; and our unpresentable parts have greater modesty, but our presentable parts have no need. But God composed the body, having given greater honor to that part which lacks it, that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.” 1 Corinthians 12:20–26

I don’t know about yours, but if the various parts of my body refuse to work together I feel sick and am unable to function as I should – that is the condition of the body of Christ today. I dont pretend to understand what different races experience on the street today but I do understand that EVERY member of the body of Christ is needed and valued and that no part of that same body can ever hurt without the rest of it feeling the effects. Paul said, “If one member suffers, all the members suffer with it...” put another way, he wrote in (Romans 12:15):

“Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another.”

We have brothers and sisters who are hurting. It DOES NOT MATTER if you understand anything else. Weep with them, listen to them, care for them and pray for them as you would have people to do for you – the world needs to see it, our brethren need to feel it and the body needs the wellness that will come of it.