Mike, a good word about focus on Truth and eternity. I am sure you could add much more. The opening words describing the difference are important. Jesus also spoke about suffering…at the hands of others:
Mat 5:10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 5:11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
Mat 5:12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.BTW I think 1 Peter 3:8 is the only NT verse using the word:
συμπαθής sumpathēs soom-path-ace’ From G4841; having a fellow feeling (“sympathetic”), that is, (by implication) mutually commiserative: – having compassion one of anotherAnd I find a lot of depth in the KJV use of pitiful, and Old John Gill captures the essence of how that would have once been understood:
be pitiful; to those that are in distress; put on bowels of mercy, and relieve and succour them, distributing cheerfully to their necessities:
Seen that way it is easy to understand….
by Mike Ratliff
12 Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. James 1:12 (NASB)
I grew up as a Southern Baptist. I have heard a lot of very good preaching in my 68+ years. However, I have also heard a lot of what I would call now-a-days, humanistic preaching. Until just a few years ago I really didn’t know the difference, or if I did, then it was that the former was grounded deeper into the Word of God than the latter. The biblically based preaching was always geared toward the eternal even if talking about the temporal. The humanistic preaching was always geared to the temporal even when talking about the eternal. Do you see the difference?
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Rainbow Trout 