Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep – Romans 12:15.
God is great in mercy, and He expects us to live lives that reflect that mercy. Believers must walk with humility, without having a higher concept than we think of ourselves (Romans 12:3), partly because we are all equal members of the body of Christ. In a certain sense, we are all part of one another (Romans 12:4–5). We are a family.
Paul explains how we are to carefully and faithfully express His grace to one another using the tools God has provided. (Romans 12:6–8) Be transformed by renewing the mind, avoid adopting the ways of the world, and be more sensitive by transmitting and expressing the love of God through spiritual gifts.
We can uniquely express grace in a few ways: We may have certain gifts, abilities, or tools that someone else might not have. But then there are ways in which we are all expected to express His grace to others, and Paul discusses some of these in Romans 12:9 and the following verses, all the way to verse 15.
“Let’s be of the same feeling, rejoice with those who rejoice or cry with those who cry.” Romans 12:15
Paul adds an instruction to be of one mind with one another (Romans 12:16). If a brother or sister rejoices over something wonderful that has happened, we should share that joy. We are members of the same body. We are family. We must rejoice in what brings joy to our brothers and sisters.
Cry with those who cry in moments of sadness.
There are moments of pain, and when another person is going through difficult times, it is our duty to accompany them and share that burden. And when a brother or sister is in pain, we should not tell them to “get over the pain.” On the contrary, Paul helps us understand that we must weep with the one who weeps.
Jesus shared the pain of those saddened by Lazarus’s death, “Jesus wept” (John 11:35). Even though moments later he would resurrect him.
Jesus traveled to Bethany intending to raise Lazarus from the dead. It would seem that there was no reason for Jesus to be sad because He knew what He was going to do, but when He was around those who were afflicted with grief, Jesus was “deeply moved” (John 11:33) and wept, just as Paul says “mourn with those who weep.”
And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God (Romans 8:28). When we share the burdens, a moment of sadness is transformed into a moment of joy.
Let’s cry with those who cry and rejoice with those who rejoice.