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Discipleship Devotional

COMFORT

 "Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God."

II Corinthians 1:3-4

Yesterday, I watched one of my favorite movies from the Rocky franchise. Rocky fans know that Sylvester Stallone extended the Rocky brand by passing the torch to Apollo Creed's son, Adonis Creed, which gave birth to the start of the franchise, "Creed". I don't want to say too much because if you haven't seen any of the Creed movies, you have got to put them on your watch list. In Creed II, Rocky's relationship with his son (Robert Jr.) was estranged. In fact, Robert Jr. is now married, moved to Canada, and his wife has already given birth to their first child, who is quickly growing up.

In Creed II, Rocky helps Adonis Creed work through problems he's facing in life and with boxing. As he helped Adonis Creed, he realized that he, too, had to face difficulties in his life that needed resolution, like bridging the geographical and relational distance between him and his son and developing a relationship with his grandchild, whom he had never seen, and by the way, looks just like Adrian Pennino (Rocky's deceased wife). As I watched the movie, I thought about II Corinthians 1:3-4 which says, "Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God." God comforts us with the expectation that we will, in turn, comfort others. 

The vast majority of my time working in pastoral ministry and as a Christian counselor has been about comforting others with the same comfort God used to comfort me. How many times have you played the role of comforter using the comfort God provided you? In one way or another, whether as parents, children, or a combination of both, there have been times when we've either needed comfort or needed to pass it on. I love a quote by Maya Angelou, who said, "When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully, everyone is blessed."  

As you set aside time to prepare for what life has in store for you today, please carry this Discipleship Devotional in your spirit, heart, and mind. Remember, there's a relative, friend, or possibly a stranger who may need comforting. The comfort may be necessary because of a mistake he/she made, or for some other reason. It is not our job to be judge and jury, but it is our job to provide love and comfort. If accountability is required, we can always find the right time and place for that. For now, the person may simply need to know that you care.

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