Stories to comfort

[Xeno.of.athens]

Humanity is dominated by our stories; we tell ourselves stories to comfort ourselves. The world, its weather, its people, diseases, all manner of things cause distress. But we tell stories to give hope to the suffering and lonely. Such is the story of Jesus Christ. It fills us with comfort. And we believe that it is true. It is, for me, a great comfort to believe that God condescended to become a human being, that he knows what life is like with all its happiness and frustrations, that he loved, wept, grieved. That God would do these things voluntarily for us, for me, is a wonder.

So, from this story of Jesus what moves your heart most.

 

[Bob Crowley]

I don't normally get emotional over Bible stories, but for me the most moving moment is when Christ meets Mary after HIs resurrection.

John 20:15-16 NIV

15“Woman, why are you weeping?” Jesus asked. “Whom are you seeking?” Thinking He was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried Him off, tell me where you have put Him, and I will get Him.” 16Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to Him in Hebrew, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).

On the other hand there's not a lot of belly laughs, although for my tastes the most humorous phrase is when Micah tells Zedekiah he will shortly be hiding in an inner room.

I Kings 22.:24-25

24Then Zedekiah son of Chenaanah went up, struck Micaiah in the face, and demanded, “Which way did the Spirit of the LORD go when He departed from me to speak with you?” 25Micaiah replied, “You will soon see, on that day when you go and hide in an inner room.”

 

[BobRyan]

Humanity is dominated by our stories; we tell ourselves stories to comfort ourselves. The world, its weather, its people, diseases, all manner of things cause distress. But we tell stories to give hope to the suffering and lonely. Such is the story of Jesus Christ. It fills us with comfort. And we believe that it is true. It is, for me, a great comfort to believe that God condescended to become a human being, that he knows what life is like with all its happiness and frustrations, that he loved, wept, grieved. That God would do these things voluntarily for us, for me, is a wonder.

So, from this story of Jesus what moves your heart most.

1 John 2:2 "He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins and not for our sins only - but for the sins of the whole world".

Jesus is "the sin offering" - the "atoning sacrifice" that pays our debt of sin in total. And not ours only but the debt of sin for the whole world.

So knowing that Judas betrays Jesus - he washed Judas' feet.
Knowing that Peter denies him three times - Jesus washes Peter's feet.
Knowing that all the disciples will abandon Him - He washes their feet.

Not only this - He pays the debt of sin for those that strike him, torture Him, curse Him , spit on Him at His trial.

Not only this - even the Jewish leaders that mock Him and work so hard to turn people from accepting salvation -- he pays for that as well.

And then offers forgiveness of sins to all - even though He knows the wide road folks will reject it and will perish in the lake of fire for all eternity.

 

[FireDragon76]

I think the story of the Good Samaritan is one of the most important fables we have in our civilization. It's ultimately a story about compassion over religious scruples.

It's a pity that these kinds of stories were distorted and interpreted to glorify church hierarchy and sacerdotalism (thanks to the abuses of the Alexandrian method), rather than the lessons in virtue they teach.

 

[ByTheSpirit]

There are so many stories to pick from here, I literally can't pick just one. I will try though. One of my favorites is not just one story but a couple rolled up into one narrative. In Luke 8, we read about Jesus going to bring Jairus' daughter back to life. On the way a woman with an issue of blood touches his garment and is made completely well. The compassion he has on this woman, who was likely an outcast because of her condition and what the law said about such things is remarkable. But this is not the story I want to share.

In John 4, we read about Jesus meeting with the woman at the well. This is probably the most amazing story besides the crucifixion about our Lord. This woman was a Samaritan, which that in itself would have kept any other Jew from interacting with her. Racial prejudice is not a modern societal issue. This woman was an outcast from her peers. She came to get water in the warm afternoon sun, not in the morning like the rest of the women. And here is Jesus, just chilling next to Jacob's well, waiting on this woman to come so He can introduce her to the Father who loves her unconditionally. Jesus looked past the race issue, he looked past what society said about her, he looked past the things she had done to tell her that God loves her and he wants a relationship with her. Can you imagine how much better off the world would be right now if people of all races and religious backgrounds would stop judging others off who they are or what they've done and just love on them, like the Father loves us?

Lord, give me your heart of love today! Help me look past the things the world tells me to hold important and let me see others around me like you see them. Sheep without a shepherd. Lord love my family, my community, the world through me!

 

[ByTheSpirit]

Another (sorry I can't help it!) is found in Luke 7:11-17. Jesus raising the widow's son. It's a miracle that doesn't get a lot of attention for some reason, and it's only found in Luke's gospel. We know from multiple scriptures that God longs to care for those who are disadvantaged, like widows and orphans. This woman, with the loss of her son, would have faced tremendous economic hardship. Scriptures specifically state Jesus was moved with compassion to help her. This isn't the place or thread to discuss whether or not miracles like this still occur, but what we can all agree on is we can have compassion on those less fortunate than us and be moved to help them in practical ways, just like Jesus did.