Harrisonburg First Church of the Nazarene
Jesus continually poured out a spirit of empathy to those he encountered. And likewise, we are encouraged to practice this characteristic in our own personal relationships. Otherwise, there is no real relationship! Thanks so much for joining us this morning as we continue on in our "Relationship Rules" series!
Rule #2:
A relationship can be no better than the empathy that two people share.
Part 2 of this series is all about empathy
-We are talking about ALL relationships
-Sympathy is feeling at someone while empathy is feeling with someone
John 11:32-44 NIV
Three truths for today
1. Empathy is not reserved for the circumstances that we agree with.
2. We don’t empathize to change people.
“When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives means the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand. The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing, not curing, not healing and face with us the reality of our powerlessness, that is a friend who cares.” - Henri Nouwen, Out of Solitude
3. Empathy without compassion is meaningless.