Empathy

empathy - How can I be more empathetic with others?

Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep.

Romans 12:15

I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.

John 13:34-35

If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad.

1 Corinthians 12:26

So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do.

Hebrews 4:14-15

EMPATHY is more than feeling bad for someone who is having a hard time or happy for someone who has success. Empathy is allowing ourselves to feel the same emotions that other people feel—almost like crawling inside them to experience their pain or joy. To empathize with others, we can ask ourselves, What might this person be feeling? How would I feel if I were in this person’s shoes? Empathizing with others softens our hearts toward them and ultimately leads us to act with compassion. Empathy is close to God’s heart because he sent his Son to earth to empathize with humanity. Therefore, live as Jesus lived by trying to feel what others feel so that you can show them the love of Christ.

Prayer Prompts

If I were in the shoes of those I find difficult to love, I would feel . . .

Your Word calls me to empathize and love them by . . .