Savoring the Scripture

Mercy for the Prodigal Psalm 5 “There are two sorts of prayers—those expressed in words, and the unuttered longings which abide as silent meditations.”  C.H. Spurgeon I have a list of prodigals in my Bible at the end of Lamentations 5. There are twenty-two names on that list. Twenty-two! Twenty-two children, many adults now, who have grown up in godly homes and are currently rejecting the Lord.  This morning, we will seek the Lord for our prodigal. If you do not have someone dear to you who has wandered far from the Lord, perhaps you have a friend or someone in your church whose child is rejecting the ways of the Lord. Consider praying for that prodigal on behalf of your friend.  Let’s cry out to the Lord together for these ones who are far from the Lord. May our hearts be moved to weep with those who are weeping for the salvation of their prodigal.  “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him, and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him, and...

Empathy is defined as the capacity for understanding, being aware of, being sensitive of, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another. Christ in His tenderness towards His children empathizes and sympathizes with them, for indeed, we are His own body that He “nourishes and cherishes.” His sympathy is such that “in our pain, Jesus is pained; in our suffering, he feels the suffering as his own” (Ortlund, Dane. Gentle and Lowly). In fact, He co-suffers with us (Acts 9:4). Christ’s own testimony is that He is gentle and lowly (Matt. 11:29). He is “Tender. Open. Welcoming. Accommodating. Understanding. Willing” (Ortlund, Dane. Gentle and Lowly). We are to imitate Christ in our treatment of our brothers and sisters in Christ, who are members of His body (1 Cor. 11:1; 12:18-20).  We must be most tender with those who are weakest—spiritually, physically, mentally. We must strive to show solidarity with them; to be understanding of their infirmit...