Finally...

1 Pet. 3:8-9

Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.

Finally, this is the conclusion of the matter. Perhaps for a woman, the outworking of her hidden person of the heart, her gentle and quiet spirit which is precious to God. But for men and women, for all of the body of Christ unity is of huge importance. Eph. 4 says, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace and later in that same chapter it says, until we all attain to the unity of the faith of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. How important!

Sympathy would be the caring heart, seeing the burdens of others and coming alongside them. Phil. 2 pairs sympathy with unity as well, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord. Perhaps sympathy helps us understand the position of others and thus contributes to unity. Brotherly love is that love that exists between believers, brothers and sisters in the body of Christ. It is this love that Christians should have as their identifying mark. John 15 says, These things I command you that you love one another. Loving one another was an issue that was very important to the heart of Jesus and should be to our hearts as well. 

A tender heart speaks of softness toward the promptings of the Spirit, leaning in to hear His still, small voice whether He is prompting us to love one another or to confess a sin that is blocking our way to growth. Whatever it is we need to be tender to Him and to God's word. A humble mind is of ultra importance. 1 Pet. 5 says, Clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on Him because He cares for you. Humility is to be openly observable, our clothing, that which protects our tender heart. It is to the humble that grace is given. Pride blocks the way! Pride keeps God from exalting you which is abundantly better than self-exaltation. Yet humility seems impossible. The heart of man is programmed with pride. It takes a mighty work of God and His Spirit to chisel away the hard and stony ground and make the heart tender. It is the proud heart that wants to give back in kind, to return evil for evil and reviling for reviling. It is the proud heart that rises up and thinks how could you do this to me. But the humble heart prays for the evil revilers. It is the humble heart that leaves retribution with God. 

Quite a meaty finally. So much to absorb and pray about. So much to consider as we seek the heart of God, as we seek to grow in him, as we seek to shed our protective coating of pride and opt out for the tenderness and sympathy. When I consider the condition of my heart and my ever present tendency to sin, I identify with Rom. 8, and groan for the coming of the Lord, groan for that time when my heart will be made 100% His, groan for that time when my hope will be made reality. 

Father,

Change my heart. Root out my pride and grow in its place a full crop of humility, tenderness, and love. I confess so many times I am not what I should be when my flesh takes over.

Help me.

In Jesus name,

Amen