For life to survive and thrive, certain elements are required such as light, air, water, and nutrition. For spiritual life in Christ to survive and thrive there are also required conditions: 1-care, 2-insight, 3-discipline, and 4-empowerment. In this blog, I want to introduce you to Spiritual Care.
Did you know that Jesus cares for you? There is a powerful connection between the love of Jesus and our love for one another. At times, it is hardly possible to distinguish the two; this is as it should be.
In the Scripture, the care and comfort Christ give us and the care and comfort we extend to one another are bound together in a world of suffering and God’s heart of love. Read these verses slowly and carefully.
Christ Cares For You
All praise to the God and Father of our Master, Jesus the Messiah! Father of all mercy! God of all healing counsel! He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, he brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us. We have plenty of hard times that come from following the Messiah, but no more so than the good times of his healing comfort—we get a full measure of that, too (1 Corinthians 1:3-5).
We Care For One Another
When we suffer for Jesus, it works out for your healing and salvation. If we are treated well, given a helping hand and encouraging word, that also works to your benefit, spurring you on, face forward, unflinching. Your hard times are also our hard times. When we see that you’re just as willing to endure the hard times as to enjoy the good times, we know you’re going to make it, no doubt about it (1 Corinthians 1:6-7, The Message).
Let me give you my definition of Spiritual Care:
Spiritual Care: To cooperate with the Holy Spirit in receiving, sharing, and extending Christ’s loving care through soul friends, faith groups, and ministries that reflect, nurture, and sustain the care of Christ.
To apply this brief lesson personally, invest a moment and think through these questions:
- When you were growing up, who supplied most of the “caring” in your family?
- Can you remember a time (past or present) when you thought, “nobody cares about me”?
- Who was someone that really cared about you, outside of your family?
- Who helped you discover that Jesus cared about you?
- Who needs a touch of concern from you today?
Copyright © Richard Leslie Parrott, Ph.D.