He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Isaiah 53:3
“We must learn to regard people less in the light of what they do or omit to do, and more in the light of what they suffer.”
Dietrich Bonhoeffer in “After Ten Years,” in Letters and Papers from Prison, ed. E. Bethge (London: SCM, 1971) 10.
When I think of others less in terms of what they do and omit to do and more in light of what they suffer, it changes me.
It forms in me a heart of compassion. If you are on this journey and you want a tool for growing, here it is: get familiar with pain.
Do this and, I guarantee it, you will become more like Christ, and you will become more generous.
Today I am visiting blind, suffering, and orphan children served by Generation to Generation Network.
I have helped the founder, Edgar Güitz, grow giving for this work, and I am want to meet those he serves first-hand to re-tell their story.
What would it look like for you to get familiar with those in pain? To be like Jesus is to be despised, rejected, and linked to suffering.