February is the month of LOVE. Special lessons, meals, events,
gifts, and cards. This morning we start a series all about love.
Tender love, Tough love, Sacrificial love, and Radical love. People
will respond in a variety of different ways. Have you noticed how
some people are so tender in their feelings toward others while other people
seem to hurt people’s feeling so easily? They don’t do it on purpose
but just are not sensitive to others’ needs.
The Good Samaritan is an example.
There are many reasons why some people are tender while others
are tough. Part of it can be explained as God’s workmanship.
He makes us all different. Part of it is due to family heritage,
the individual’s temperament and the kind of experiences he or she has
had. Both tenderness and toughness are important character qualities;
both are necessary sides of love.
How many people are touched by a movie and end up crying when
the part gets extremely sad? Others would never cry no matter what
happens. Some people are very sensitive while others develop a calloused
response to those in need.
Ephesians is all about the church and how we have been made alive
in Christ. It speaks of grace and unity like few other books of the
Bible. We have a message for the world that must be lived for all
to see. This message starts by people having the right relationship within
the church and then extending it to those around us. Ephesians speaks
of doctrinal issues that must be lived out with tenderhearted compassion.
Right doctrine must be backed up with right living.
Our text says to be kind and compassionate to one another.
The word for compassion here can be translated tender hearted. It
means to be moved inwardly towards the needs of people, showing personal
concern. The father in the prodigal son was moved this way toward
his son. Jesus used this word of himself when he saw that the people
were “like sheep without a shepherd.” It refers to the seat of emotion,
the heart and moves people to have pity, show mercy, and feel sympathy.
It goes beyond personal preference and personality differences, as each
Christian is to show froth this quality.
For some it is easy and other it is hard but it is something
that each of us must practice is if we are going to live for Christ.
What is the danger if we are not tenderhearted? People see Christianity
as cold and uncaring. They come to be loved unconditionally and leave
being hurt because we would not take time for them. The church is
a place where people need to see the compassion of Christ being shown by
the members who belong there. Our hearts need to be touched by people and
our response should be one of tenderhearted compassion to those around
us?
How can we be that kind of people? What practical steps
can we take to begin to practice what Paul taught us many years ago?
I. Tender Love Sees People Like God Sees People. (5:1)
How can we imitate God? How can we begin to look at the
world like God does? That seems like an impossible task but it starts
by being hones with ourselves. What is our attitude toward people?
Calloused people don’t listen very well because they are talking or mentally
responding to what has been said. They can use people and dispose
of them when they have serve their purpose. We can act superior,
we love to be right, and we compete with such tenacity that winning seems
like our only goal. We might even view tenderhearted people as being
weak and being taken advantage of.
If we really think about how we treat people, we can all see
that there is room for improvement in each of us. There is a hardness
that makes us turn the other way to certain types of needs. There is a
blunting of emotions that keeps us from the responding the way God would
have responded. When we see people do we say, “Wow, this person is
a custom designed creation of the Almighty God? He has God’s image
stamped on him. He is the object of God’s greatest affection.
Jesus shed His blood for him.” Too many times we just see them as
another person who could take up my time, cause me pain, and ruin my day.
That is the hardness we must remove if we are going to show tender love
and see people like God sees people.
All human beings are God’s beloved creations, and all are invited
to received forgiveness at the cross. Because God has invited everybody
into His family through Christ, every person we meet is a potential brother
and sister. When we grasp this truth and begin to see people
for what they mean to God, we begin to soften up and treat people tenderly.
How do we see the different classes of people? A waitress, a gas
attendant, a Metro Manila aide, a drunk on the street, a student, a professor,
a doctor, a nurse. Every person is just as important as the other
in God’s sight. Do we see people like God sees people?
II. Tender Love Identifies With Other People’s Problems. (4:32)
How well do we put ourselves in the position of other people?
Can we begin to see a situation like other people might see it? Can
we put ourselves in their shoes and feel like they feel?
Sometimes we are so caught up in our own lives and our own problems
that we become hard to the needs of others. We need to minister to
the needs of each other and not expect everybody to make it on their own.
Empathy does not come naturally to hardhearted people. Sometimes we even
justify our thinking by blaming the people for their own tragic situations.
Growing up in Nebraska, I never had a very good idea of real
poverty. Poor people in my hometown were usually lazy and would not
work. My society taught me that if you work hard then things in your
life would turn out well. The problems of poverty in the city and around
the world were answered and solved by saying that people would not work
and got what they deserved. As a Christian, I have had to challenge
that way of thinking because first of all it is not true in most parts
of the world and secondly it show my hard heart. God cares for people and
helps them no matter what their situation. I cannot explain away
why I should care for people by saying they are lazy. I still must
care because God does.
How would it feel to be handicapped, unable to stand or walk,
eat or dress yourself? What is it like to be unemployed and still
have to provide for a family of six? How would it feel to be a tribal
person on his first trip to Manila? What feelings do those with Cancer,
Aids, Alzheimer’s disease have? When we take time to feel like other
people feel a few cracks begin go from in our hard hearts. So if
we are going to show tender compassionate love we must identify with other
people’s problems.
III. Tender Love Treats People Like Jesus Treats Us. (v. 5:2)
When you pray, the Lord listens attentively to every word you
say. Why not treat your wife, your children, your friend, and your
co-workers the same way? Slow down, close out any distractions, take
time to listen and say to yourself, “I really want to hear what you have
to say.”
When you make a mistake, Jesus lifts you up, forgives you, and
continues to treat you with love and respect. Why not do the same
for the people with whom you live, work, and worship? When you feel
lonely and insecure, the Holy Spirit stays by your side, comforts you and
assures you of God’s love. Why not give comfort and support to the
people you love when they are going through difficult times?
No believer ever has to doubt God’s affection. Over and
over his promises say we are dearly loved children, precious in his sight.
We are honored and loved by our Lord. If God does not want his children
wondering whether or not they are loved, why not express you own affection
regularly so that you family, friends, in Christ know how you feel about
them? When we begin to express that love our hearts will become more tender
and compassionate. We will find ourselves treating people more like
Jesus treats them.
Conclusion:
What will happen if we begin to see people as they are in God’s eyes, we walk with them through their problems and threat them the way Christ treats us? I believe the results would lead to closes families, better opportunities to share our faith at work, and a church that is practicing what Paul calls Christian fellowship. Friendships will deepen and we will really begins to understand our relationships with one another. Our churches will multiply in effectiveness as people discover they can find love where Christ is worshipped.I thank God for those who are tenderhearted and have ministered to me through the years. May we all make a decision this morning to grow in that tenderness, to increase our compassion for people in trouble, and to let God’s love shine though us as we change our vision and see people like God does.
Read Ephesians 4:32-5:2.
