Empathy
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...