Piano Movers Needed

“Shared joy is a double joy. Shared sorrow is half sorrow.” – Swedish proverb

The Swedes are right…

When you share in someone else’s joy, it seems to double. And when you share in their sorrow, it is often cut in half.

I am reminded of the pastor who took off from church one Sunday, feigning illness, in order to play golf. As God would have it, the pastor got his very first hole-in-one, but who could he possibly tell about it? His joy was greatly diminished by having to keep that exciting news to himself or be exposed.

Likewise, furniture movers will tell you what a blessing it is – to their backs and their spirits – to have help lifting an especially heavy piece of furniture. In fact, when Deanna and I were relative newlyweds, we bought an antique piano and watched in amazement as two men carried that behemoth up two full flights of stairs without stopping to catch their breath. One man couldn’t have lifted the piano, let alone moved it more than a foot or two by himself. But together, they knocked out that job in mere minutes.

The bottom line is that life – with all its highs, lows, and times spent in between – is meant to be shared. That especially applies to Christians, whose greatest support system – in addition to their immediate family and friends – is the local church.

“Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.” Romans 12:15 (NJKV)

“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:2 (NKJV)

- Rev. Dale M. Glading, President