The People's vindicator. [volume] (Natchitoches, La.) 1874-1883, 1881-10-08
Christian sympathy.

n"e oes' ae''h'tlon of sympathy is
"kejoice with them that do ,p;o;a
and weep with them that ween ,}' ~
syymPathize is to be affected by and ta az
the joys as well as the sorrows Of oh
ers. In common usage, however s vn
palhy is limited to mental part;c;ns; t%
in the su.ferings of others. 1t is a snon
taneous emotion Of pity in view Of mis- mis-
cry. He who does not feel il Is lass
than human. '0"
In SO far. sympathy may be only p,..
s'ye. 1t may not lead to any effort to
relieve The suffering. 1t is an impulse
to relieve. but that impulse NAV he p' ST.;
tied by habitual selHshness. After .
while the sympathy itself ceases Tho
man who refuses to help ceases to feel
Only active bencvoIcnce to relieve did,
tress can preserve in US the power to
feel a warm and tender sympathy
There isl says Frederick VI. Robert.
son, something dangerous in bepevo.
lence which is only emotional: there il
something ennobling, something God.
like in active kindness. This is the law
of our nature, from which there is no
escaping: impressions which are made
upon US in the way of feeling get weak.
er and weaker. the oftener they are r..
peated; but the habits of love which Won
get by being useful and active in doino
Others good. get stronger and stronger
the oitener you practice them. That
acquaintance with sorrow which IS onlv
passive loses its sharpness every time
you see it. II 4 man wanted to have \
thoroughly callous and hardened heart
we can tell him of no way 50 sure IS
this: Let him become familiar with the
distresses of his fellow-men. and do
nothing to relieve them; let him reado
pauper misery, and content himself
with theorizing about the improyidence
OF the poor; let him listen to sppeals
from the pulpit which attempt to move
his charity-and pass the plate without
4 sacrlfice-we will promise him his
sensibilities will soon be placed beyond
the power of wounding; he shall have
a heart as cold and dead as if he had
been born without human sympa-
thies."
Christian sympathy Is active as well
rs passive. Its impulse to help the
needy is never UNDECIDED. Nor does il
content itself with contributions to pub
lie charities, but, like the Master, it be-
comes acquainted with grief by per-
sonal contact with it, and personal min
istries to relieve it. That is not Chris
tan sympathy, but a sort Of refined sell
tshness, which seeks to fulfill all obi.
cations to those in distress BY employ.
Ing some one else to care for them, and
avoids all contact and association witt
them. Not such was the sympathy o.
Christ. He lived and identified Him
self with suffering. 'He hath borne
our grief and carried our SORROWS" not
only in the act of atonement, but in Hi
daily life on earth. He was constant!
in the presence of the miserable to re.
lieve them; so that, when He would give
John conclusive proof that he was the
Messiah, he said: "Go your way anl
tell John what things ye have seen snt
heard: how that the blind see. the LIANT
talk. the lepers are cleansed, the deal
hear, the dead are raised, to the pQoi
the Gospel is preached
The proof of Christian sympathy
not almsgiving to get the suffering ou'
OF mind. 1t is going among them.
identifying yourself with them. and Sc
having real fellowship with their suffer
ings "Blessed is that man whom biz
Lord, when He cometh, shall find *
doing" Methodist.