February 2026

In this issue of the Outlook, we are reminded that empathy does not require agreement, but it does require love — the kind that refuses to look away.

Empathy is often treated as a soft virtue — a personal disposition rather than a public practice. Yet in Scripture and in the life of the church, empathy is anything but passive. It is a way of seeing, a discipline of attention, and a moral stance that shapes how communities live together in times of fracture and fear.

To practice empathy is not simply to feel for others, but to move toward them — to listen without rushing to judgment, to resist caricature, and to honor the complexity of human lives. In a culture increasingly marked by suspicion, outrage and dehumanizing rhetoric, empathy becomes a countercultural act. It asks us to bear one another’s burdens rather than weaponize our differences.

In Jesus Christ, God does not remain distant from human suffering but enters fully into it, a nearness that sets the pattern for our life together. We are called not only to proclaim good news, but to embody it through practices of compassion, humility and courageous listening.

In this issue of the Outlook, we are reminded that empathy does not require agreement, but it does require love — the kind that refuses to look away.