Celebrate others !

Thursday June 17, 2021

Celebrate others !

“Rejoice with those who rejoice.” Romans 12:15

Do you remember the thrill you felt as a child when your family and friends celebrated your birthday ? You were the center of the festivities, weren't you ? Today you are older, you have acquired wisdom, maturity and perhaps humility. You no longer feel the center of the world ! Yet if someone congratulates you on your success in one area or another, you appreciate being recognized, even if only for a few kind sentences. At the heart of any relationship is the desire to be celebrated and appreciated by the other. Paul says : “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep”. In truth, crying with others is often easier than rejoicing with others. No feeling of jealousy can enter our heart when we cry with those who are suffering. We feel a bit superior then, in a way, whereas celebrating the success of others without feeling any kind of injustice is much more difficult. It is as if we imagine that their success has come at our expense. And envying them becomes the logical consequence of our thoughts. If Jesus knew how to cry with those who cry, for example after the death of His friend Lazarus, He also knew how to rejoice with those who were in joy. When the 70 disciples He had sent on mission returned "with joy" (Luke 10:17), Jesus Himself was overjoyed (Luke 10:21-24). If God can shine with joy when he is close to us as Zephaniah expresses it : “The Lord your God is in your midst : He is strong and He assures you of victory, He shines with happiness because of you, His love gives you new life, He cries out joyfully about you” (Zephaniah 3:17), how could we refuse to rejoice with those who rejoice ?

Source (His Word for Today)