Sympathy and Comfort

Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this evil that had come upon him, they came each from his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They made an appointment together to come to show him sympathy and comfort him.
Job 2:11
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Sympathy and Comfort
We all have friends.  We all need friends.  Friendship is important in the life of a Christian.  We are to be there for our brothers and sisters in Christ.  Jesus tells us to love God and love our neighbor.  This is why it is so important that we meet regularly with our friends.  But how can we do this with our busy schedules and hectic lives?  You know the answer, church.  We come to church first and foremost, to receive God’s rich blessings of forgiveness and strengthening of faith.  To hear His Word and receive His Sacraments.  But God would also have us come together to build one another up.  You never know when a fellow member might need a shoulder to lean on and a prayer.  If we are not together in church, we can’t be there when they need us.  The same is true for us as well.  We often need the support of our fellow Christians, but if we are not present with them it can be difficult to receive.  Job’s friends knew he had suffered great losses to his wealth and family, as well as to his health.  They knew he needed them to bring sympathy and comfort.  They came from far off distances to do just that.  Likewise, Christ traveled from heaven to earth to be with us in the flesh to bring us comfort and to sympathize with our condition. He became incarnate to be among us, intimately, not at a distance. He took our burden of sin upon Himself and in exchange gave us His righteousness.