A CALL TO ACTION (PART 4)

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Be tenderhearted.

1 Peter 3:8 NLT

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Beginning with verse 8 of 1 Peter, chapter 3, we find the Word of God providing a series of calls to action, calls that all Christian believers are supposed to embrace and carry out. To date, we have seen Christians reminded of their responsibility to be:

1. United and of one mind.

2. Sympathetic toward one another.

3. Loving each other as one would a brother or sister.

Today, we add yet one more prescribed action to the list with a simple two words from the aforementioned verse 8:

Be tenderhearted.

Now, when we look at the base definition of the word “tenderhearted” we find that it contains elements of previous exhortations. For one who is tenderhearted is “easily moved to love, pity, or sorrow” and exhibits compassion towards others. When you look at other translations of this verse, you also find the act of being kind included in the mix (CEV and GNT).

Given this, think about the scriptures and how they tell us about the nature of our God. At a minimum, you would get this:

The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.

For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.

As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him. Psalm 103:8,11-13

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23

The Lord God Almighty is the Maker and Master of all created things, a Divine and Holy King who possesses infinite power and can do whatever He chooses, especially in passing judgment over sinful behavior. But note that this doesn’t mean He is uncaring and callous.

Rather, His Word provides insight into His character which includes the perfect display of compassion, graciousness, love, compassion, and faithfulness. All these and so much more were put into practice by Jesus, the Son who was completely one with His Father (John 10:30). This means that everything found in God is also found in Jesus who is an exact representation of His Heavenly Father.

Thankfully, we as Christians then have a role model to follow as we receive our calls to action from the scriptures, and follow Him we must as it is a fundamental responsibility we all have as believers, to be Christ-like in every way we carry out our lives.

So as we go into this week ahead and beyond, the call is to show love, pity, sorrow, compassion, and kindness to others when needed. To meet the goal, let us allow the Holy Spirit to control our every thought, word, and deed, for if we do, then we will easily comply with the demands of the scriptures and reflect the blessed, caring nature of Jesus as we do.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.