Put Yourself in Their Place

 "Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep." — Romans 12:15 (KJV)

There are some thoughts that refuse to leave a preacher's heart. They follow you through the day and awaken you in the middle of the night. This is one of them.

The Lord has richly blessed my life. I have fifteen grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. They are among the greatest blessings God has ever entrusted to me. Like every grandfather, I rejoice when they laugh, pray when they are sick, and thank God for every day He gives them.

If one of my grandchildren became seriously ill or suffered a terrible accident, my heart would be burdened beyond words. Every parent and grandparent understands that feeling.

But I have asked myself an even harder question.

What if one of them were killed in an act of violence?

What if they were not soldiers but innocent children whose only crime was being born where a war was being fought?

I know what my first response would be. My heart would cry out to God. I would ask why such evil had been allowed, and I would pray that God, the righteous Judge of all the earth, would bring justice upon those responsible. The pain would be almost beyond bearing.

Now let us place ourselves in the shoes of parents and grandparents who live where war has become a daily reality.

Imagine hearing explosions every night.

Imagine wondering if your child will return home from school.

Imagine carrying your son or daughter to a hospital only to discover there is no medicine, no electricity, and no doctor available.

Imagine standing beside a small grave that should never have been dug.

Can we honestly say we would feel differently than they do?

Many of those parents have watched not one child die, but several. Many have lost entire families. Their grief is beyond anything most of us have ever experienced.

If a Christian who knows the grace and mercy of Christ struggles with feelings of sorrow, anger, and a longing for justice after the violent death of a child, what should we expect from those who do not yet know Christ?

Would they not also cry out for justice?

Would they not struggle with anger?

Would they not find it difficult to love those they believe have taken everything from them?

This does not justify hatred or revenge, but it helps us understand the depth of human suffering. It reminds us that behind every casualty report is a father, a mother, a grandfather, a grandmother, brothers, sisters, and friends whose lives have been forever changed.

The Scriptures call us to something different.

"Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ." — Galatians 6:2 (KJV)

Bearing another person's burden begins by imagining ourselves in their place.

Too often we view war through statistics, headlines, political speeches, and military maps. God sees individual souls.

He sees every frightened child.

He hears every mother's cry.

He knows every grandfather whose heart has been broken.

As followers of Jesus Christ, we should never become so attached to political causes or national loyalties that we lose the compassion Christ commands us to have.

The Lord taught us:

"And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise." — Luke 6:31 (KJV)

That simple command changes the way we look at the world.

If our own children were living beneath falling bombs, would we still speak so casually about war?

If our own grandchildren were among the innocent victims, would we not plead for mercy, for peace, and for every possible effort to protect them?

It is easy to support a war when the suffering belongs to someone else's family.

It is much harder when we imagine our own family in the same situation.

As Christians, we are called to look beyond national borders and political divisions. Every child is created in the image of God. Every grieving parent matters to Him. Every brokenhearted grandparent is known by Him.

May the Lord give us hearts that are slow to speak of war, quick to pray for peace, and willing to see every suffering family through the eyes of Christ.

For when we learn to put ourselves in their place, we begin to understand why Jesus was called the Prince of Peace.