At this time, the shooting of Kate Steinle, allegedly by illegal immigrant Jose Ines Garcia Zarate in San Francisco, California, has put the city’s sanctuary policy under attack. We can argue over this policy; we can debate illegal immigration and we can accuse politicians, including the president, for do- ing nothing to secure our borders, but none of this rancor will ease the pain of the Steinle family.
Policy will not change the reality of Kate’s death for her friends and family. They are suffering. In fact, the world is suffering. We need only to look at the news in the past few weeks to see how deeply we are suffering as a nation. But our politicians can do nothing to ease our suffering and pain.
However, someone has the power and has done something about our pain. God sent His Son into the world so He could come together with us in our suffering. Jesus Christ came to suffer with us and then to suffer for us on the cross. In Jesus Christ, God came to earth to join us in our suffering and to overcome our suffering at the cross. By faith we triumph with Christ over suffering. Just as the Holy Spirit lifted Jesus’ burden of suffering by raising Him to life, so the Spirit will also lift our burden of suffering and raise us to life in Christ.
If we have received comfort from our suffering through Christ, let us comfort others through the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul reminds us that God “comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort” (2 Corinthians 1:4) others.
Photo by Tom Pumford
Denise Larson Cooper has a passion for Christ and sharing His Word. A wife and mother of two daughters, Denise currently works as a gymnastic coach.
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