file: /pub/resources/text/Our.Daily.Bread: db940906.txt
-------------------------------------------------------



OUR DAILY BREAD                      Tuesday, September 6, 1994
---------------
READ:  I Corinthians 12:12-27



                             "I HURT FOR YOU"

                  "If one member suffers, all the members
                              suffer with it."

                            I Corinthians 12:26


When my sons were young, one of them stubbed his toe and grimaced 
with pain.  Seeing him trying bravely to bear the agony of those 
moments, I said, "Son, I'm truly sorry.  My toe hurts for you."

Lifting his head, he looked at me and responded, "Dad, your toe 
doesn't really hurt, does it?"

No, I didn't sense any physical pangs, yet I did share his 
suffering.  I even wished his ache could somehow be transferred to 
my body.

The apostle Paul said that all believers in Christ are part of 
"one body" (1 Cor. 12:13).  And if one part suffers, "all the 
members suffer with it (v. 26)."

Are you grieved when a brother in Christ is in trouble? Does it 
bother you when a believer stumbles into sin and is brought under 
the chastening hand of the Lord? Do you experience sorrow of heart 
when a child of God is passing through the deep waters of 
affliction and trial?  If not, ask the Lord right now to help you 
become the kind of person who can share the heartache of others 
and sympathize with them.

Yes, to every Christian we meet who is in some kind of distress, 
we should be ready to say from our hearts, "I hurt for you."

    - Richard W. DeHaan

                      The hurting ones need sympathy,
                      They need to know we're there;
                       A quiet word, a tender touch
                         Assures them that we care.

                            - Dennis J. DeHaan


THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
-------------------
Empathy is your pain in my heart.

THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:  2 Chronicles 20-22

------------------------------------------------------------------
Our Daily Bread, Copyright 1994, used by permission of Radio Bible 
Class, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49555, USA. Written permission must 
be obtained from RBC for any further posting or distribution.  RBC 
provides a variety of Bible resources, which are free of charge.  
RBC is not funded by any group or denomination, and support comes 
voluntarily from its Members and Friends.  Write for more 
information, or call 1-800-598-7221.
------------------------------------------------------------------