Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Romans 12:1
Why is it so hard to rejoice when God blesses others?
We think Why didn’t he bless me like that? Why didn’t he give me a nice a house? Why did he answer their prayers and not mine?Cain winced when God blessed Abel. Saul ground his teeth when the people shouted, “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands.” When the Pharisees heard the people praise Jesus, they seethed. Contrast with John the Baptist. When crowds thronged to Jesus and John’s followers dwindled, said, “He must increase and I must decrease.”
It should be the most natural thing for us to rejoice when God blesses others because he’s crowned us spiritual billionaires. We’re joint-heirs with Christ. He’s our great treasure and all his riches are ours. God himself dwells in us, guides, protects, cares for us. An eternity of joy in his presence looms before us.
When we don’t rejoice when God blesses others it shows we don’t appreciate all he’s has done for us.
It shows we treasure material and temporal things more than our great salvation and treasure, Jesus. We’ve taken our eyes off the one who blesses and forgotten how generous he’s been with us. We’re self-centered and aren’t looking to the interests of others.
In heaven we’ll be glad to see God bless others.
We’ll even rejoice when God honors others above us, for there’s no envy in heaven. There’s no sin in heaven, only love. In heaven we’ll rejoice to see others rewarded, even when they get more rewards than we do, because we’ll be filled with love for Jesus and others.
When we rejoice with those who are blessed it shows we consider God to be gracious and generous.
In the parable of the laborers in the vineyard the master paid those he hired last the same as soon as those he hired first. When those he hired first grumbled he said, “I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?” (Matthew 20:14-15). If those who had been hired first had thought about it, they could have expected the master to be generous to them in the future.
A friend shared a story about two couples in his church who were best friends. One couple had prayed for years to have children but had never been able to. When their friends decided to try to have children they conceived immediately and nine months later had a beautiful baby. My friend said he was blown away when he saw the wife who had not been able to have children rejoice with all her heart with her best friend when she first saw her baby.
Let’s ask Jesus for grace to rejoice when he blesses others. Let’s do now what we’ll do forever in heaven.
Originally posted by on November 12, 2012, on The Blazing Center blog.
