2 Corinthians 1:3-4 "Comforting Others"

Praise God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! The Father is a merciful God, who always gives us comfort. He comforts us when we are in trouble, so that we can share that same comfort with others in trouble.  2 Corinthians 1:3-4

True spiritual qualities are not natural to us. By nature we are not compassionate and merciful and loving and kind and patient or any of that. And the only way that we can become more patient with others is if someone invests some patience into us –because you can’t give what you don’t have.

The only way we can be more compassionate is if someone shows compassion to us. The only way we can be more forgiving is if someone forgives us. The only way we can be more loving is if someone loves us.

I liken this to a spiritual bank account –a checking account. Before we can write any checks on this account, somebody has to make some deposits into it. And Jesus is the one who makes the deposits.

Jesus has all of those characteristics –and if we have accepted His love, He has invested into us and we now have love to share with others. If we have received His mercy, we now can be merciful. If we have trusted Him for the forgiveness of our sins, we now can forgive others.

Once those deposits have been made into our lives, not only can we turn around and give them to others, but the Bible says that if we are going to follow Jesus, it’s not optional –we must invest what Jesus has given to us into the lives of others.

Spiritually the flip side of you can’t give what you don’t have is that you must give what you do have.

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