Romans 12:15 (NIV)
15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who
mourn.
True love will interest us in the sorrows and joys of one
another, and teach us to make them our own.
On a flight from Atlanta to Chicago in July 2004, nine
U.S. soldiers—home from Iraq on a two-week leave—were among the passengers.
Before one of the soldiers boarded, a passenger traded his first class ticket
for the soldier's coach ticket. As the plane was boarding, other passengers
asked to trade their first class seats for the coach seats occupied by the
remaining soldiers.
Devilla Evans, a flight attendant on the American
Airlines flight, said "it was a privilege to be flying with those two
groups of unselfish people: those who would put their lives on the line to
protect their fellow citizens' freedom, and those who were not ashamed to say
thank you." [headlines.agapepress.org (7-21-04); submitted by Greg Miller,
Madison, Mississippi]
God designed us to have relationships with other people.
In the story above the people rejoiced over the soldiers coming home after
serving their duty. The passengers were willing to rejoice with the soldiers by
giving up their first class seats. They also knew these soldiers were probably
still mourning the loss of some of their friends. Making them just a little
more comfortable was an ease to their mourning and the hardships they endured.
It is out of pure love that we can rejoice and mourn with
others. Let us do our best to build lasting relationships that show others the
love of Christ.
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