The Cries Of A Broken Heart - Romans 12:15

Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. - Romans 12:15

    This seemingly simple and innocuous command has much to say to us as Christians. But it also speaks to the whole world regardless of faith. It speaks to humanity. Assuming that the experiences under consideration aren’t criminal or hateful, why shouldn’t we rejoice when others rejoice. More important, why shouldn’t we weep with those who weep? Joy and sadness are part of our commonality. They are certainly two emotions shared by all but the pathologically indifferent. “You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness.” Psalm 30:11.
    It should be easy to recall the last time you shared someone’s joy. A birth, a marriage, a graduation; the number of causes for joy is hard to limit. Can the same be said for sadness? Certainly we understand the pain of loss: a death, a divorce, a foreclosure. There are many reasons we suffer loss. But how about the quiet losses we never hear about? The heartache many feel in the loneliness they never speak about. The pain they suffer in an undisclosed illness that they keep from others. The agony of failed expectations. The torment of chemical or alcohol dependency. The wounds of a broken relationships. There are many crucibles that many people, even those closest to us, never speak of. “Lord, why do You cast off my soul? Why do You hide Your face from me? I have been afflicted and ready to die from my youth; I suffer Your terrors; I am distraught. Your fierce wrath has gone over me; Your terrors have cut me off.” - Psalm 88:14-16.
    The point is that we cannot possibly know what fears and trepidations encumber those around us if we don’t know what it is that beleaguers them. And we can’t know if we don’t allow ourselves to hear the desperation in their silent cries. This is the difference between merely hearing someone and actually listening to them. But we can’t listen to them while they are speaking if we are busy readying our very next words. “He who answers a matter before he hears it, it is folly and shame to him.” - Proverbs 18:13. A quiet mind hears the cries of a broken heart.
    To the extent that we listen to someone, we can be supportive both spiritually and emotionally, even unintentionally. We can truly make a difference in the lives of those around us; both those we know and those we simply encounter. Then we will be among the righteously humble who say -  “When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’” - Matthew 25:38-40.
    Let us quiet ourselves and take the time to listen to a heart, yearning to be heard.