RESOURCES

The Way of Empathy

The Way of Empathy is a strategic way of thinking and doing rooted in Jesus’ earthly ministry and the teachings of Scripture. It is a powerful mindset that exposes you to different experiences, stories, and perspectives that, together, illuminate the complexity, beauty, and diversity of the created world by focusing on the people in it. Through attention, proximity, humility, and sacrifice, we can radically and authentically bear witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which unites people across both space and time.

The way of empathy begins with paying attention to the God-ordained diversity found in the world around us. It is only when you pay attention to the things and people around you—actually seeing and hearing that which is outside your own purview—that you can begin the way of empathy. If you are looking down, not up, you can miss the most important cues.

1. Attention

  • It is only when you pay attention to the things and people around you—actually seeing and hearing that which is outside your own purview—that you can begin the way of empathy. If you are looking down, not up, you can miss the most important cues.

    The Dutch theologian Herman Bavinck argues in his “Reformed Dogmatics,” we must be attentive to the presence of divine creativity because God’s image placed on his creation is not revealed merely through the individual, but through a collective possession of the Imago Dei. Said another way, no single person or place can contain the fullness of God’s image bestowed upon us. To understand, know, and love God as He has revealed Himself to the world requires us to cultivate a holy curiosity and genuine desire to find God through the plurality of his image-bearing creation.

    The way of empathy cultivates in us a desire to understand and know those who are different from ourselves and our tribe—in culture and language, in cuisine and tradition, in gladness and struggle—so we might better love both God and neighbor. If we are attentive to this divine work, we will live a life filled with wonder as we discover the Holy Spirit moving in the most unexpected of places.

2. Proximity

Attention leads us into closer proximity to those outside of our native community and tribe. We can only grasp meaning if we are able to connect the dots. Proximity allows us to get closer to who or what we want to know better. This is the only way to gain new perspectives.

  • We can only grasp meaning if we are able to connect the dots. Proximity allows us to get closer to who or what we want to know better. This is the only way to gain new perspectives.

    In his book “To Change the World,” James Davidson Hunter encourages Christians to shape their lives around “faithful presence.” This practice, Hunter explains, is rooted in the incarnation of Jesus Christ, which offers us a way to engage with “the challenge of difference.” He summarizes, “For the Christian, if there is a possibility for human flourishing in a world such as ours, it begins when God’s Word of love becomes flesh in us, is embodied in us, is enacted through us and in doing so, a trust is forged between the word spoken and the reality to which it speaks; to the words we speak and the realities to which we, the church, point.”

    The way of empathy affirms that our presence in certain places matters decisively. If we seek to practice authentic empathy, then we must be in “incarnational” motion.

    Proximity is where the way of empathy can quickly become messy. There is no way around it. Experiencing the reality of difference and diversity will be uncomfortable. Language barriers, foreign cuisine, unspoken cultural norms, and tables occupied by various shades of color all make us hyper-aware of our own placement in the communities we inhabit.

    But, this is the Gospel-centered work of faithful presence. It is showing up in these mixed, in-between spaces where we seek to carry the Gospel forward in both word and deed. Showing neighbor-love, empathy, and generosity in these spaces will not change the world overnight, but it is a tangible expression of “incarnational” love in our own communities today that begins to craft a new story about what it means to love our neighbors well. 

3. Humility

Time spent in and among the plurality of God’s people stirs in us a profound humility. Humility is the knowledge that we have something to offer and learn from others. It is being in service to others and recognizing that without understanding the perspectives of other people, we will never fully see things as they are. Humility compels us to respond.

  • Humility is the knowledge that we have something to offer and learn from others. It is being in service to others and recognizing that without understanding the perspectives of other people, we will never fully see things as they are. Humility compels us to respond.

    Empathic humility involves a conscious realization that, in our limited perspectives and imaginations, we have much to learn from those around us. The cultivation of this humility is often accompanied by a process of unlearning and relearning—of recognizing where we have asserted our community’s experience as absolute and universal, discounted the stories of those around us, and made assumptions about what faithful Christian practice looks like. Humility is the recognition of how deeply we are intertwined with patterns of exclusivity and tribalism and how this entanglement influences our faith and theology.

4. Sacrifice

The cultivation of humility leads us to sacrifice. Finally, as we navigate life through this wider, more empathic lens, we are compelled to participate in the creation of a more just society through sacrifice on behalf of others. Sacrifice is ultimately about using our gifts and talents to make a difference in the lives of others, for the Kingdom and for ourselves.

  • Finally, as we navigate life through this wider, more empathic lens, we are compelled to participate in the creation of a more just society through sacrifice on behalf of others. Sacrifice is ultimately about using our gifts and talents to make a difference in the lives of others, for the Kingdom and for ourselves.

    This is the ultimate end of empathy: to give of our talents and treasures and make space in ourselves for the “other” just as Christ has made space within Himself for us. This is the faithful, Christ-centered work of both loving our neighbors and building the Kingdom of God. This is the path to healing division, mending fractures, and collectively moving together towards a better future for all who reside in our neighborhoods, communities, nation, and world. 

The sacrifice demanded by The Way of Empathy cannot be achieved in a tweet or hashtag. Rather, the culmination of attention, proximity, humility, and sacrifice requires a shifting of norms and “a long obedience in the same direction.” It means doing the hard work of building often atrophied muscles, opening yourself to new, and sometimes challenging, ideas, and making space for the stories and experiences of others.


This is the way of empathy.