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Comfort

                 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. (II Corinthians 1:3-4)

                We love because he first loved us. (I John 4:19)

                What do you think of when you think of comfort. Nice, cozy fires, warm blankets, cool breezes, soft clothing that doesn’t squeeze, pinch, or otherwise bother you; a hand on your shoulder, good food… I agree. All those things can and do comfort. But comfort is a con/com- word, meaning “with” and -fort comes from the same root as fortify, fort, and forte, all of which have to do with strength. Yes, I know, I’ve said this before but this is one of the reasons why God allows bad things to happen. If He didn’t, we would have no need to become strong, no reason to show anyone any compassion, no reason to give them comfort/strength, and ultimately, fewer ways to love them. We learn how to give it by needing it ourselves.

                The other consideration should also be no surprise, but it might be something we don’t think about often enough. We comfort after we’ve been comforted, with the comfort we receive from God. We love because He first loved us. It’s not too big a stretch to say that we love after we’ve been loved, with the love we receive from God. A sort of odd prayer comes to mind…

                Lord Jesus, comfort us to teach us what comfort is and so that we can comfort others. Teach us to recognize Your love for us in our days so that we can learn how to love others.

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