1 Peter 3:8-9 - "Finally, be ye all of one mind (in harmony), having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful (compassionate), be courteous: 9. Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; know that you thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing."
The text concludes with: "that ye should inherit a blessing." Everybody wants to be blessed, I know I do, but if you want to be blessed, you should be a blessing. This is a principle of the Christian life. One of my main prayers is that I will be a blessing to the people that I encounter. I have to remind myself of this when I encounter recalcitrant (difficult) people. We are to be blessings even when we are in negative circumstances. How can we do this? We can seek to live in harmony with other people, or as the KJV says, "be all of one mind." This should certainly be true in Christian fellowship, otherwise known as church. It is not always easy to be in harmony with others, but it will be easier if we "have compassion one of another (and) love as brothers." It will not be a sure thing even then, but it will be more likely. If we look at other people, especially Christian brothers and sisters, with compassion, we will see beyond disagreement to real fellowship. It will also help if we "love as brothers." I have two brothers, one five years older and one five years younger. (That's right I'm the middle child. Explains a lot doesn't it?) You can be sure that we do not always agree on things, be it religion, politics or whatever, but they are my brothers and I love them, and they love me. Hey, we are "blood." There is no disagreement that could make me stop loving them. We are brothers and sisters in Christ; therefore, we are "blood." We are welded together by the blood of Christ; therefore, there should be nothing that could cause us to break fellowship. But what about people who are not Christians? The Bible does not make any distinction between how we should treat people. We should be compassionate and loving toward all people. There is more: "Do not repay evil for evil, or insult with insult, but with blessing." If we want to be blessings and to be blessed we will stay away from meaningless arguments. (You will have to agree that most arguments are meaningless.) The game of "payback" never ends, it just keeps going on and on. Quit arguing and start blessing. Go out into the world and live a blessed life. Bro. Joe
1 Comment
Olen cain
6/8/2012 01:08:47 am
A-men ---Joe B
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