Tenderhearted part 3
Let's look at our key memory verse again, because there's really only one thing I want to say today: "And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you" (Ephesians 4:32). Here's what I want to say: Be kind, please rewind. Some of you might not be old enough to remember that Blockbuster Video slogan, but it was pretty simple. Rewind your VHS tapes so the next person who rents them won't have to. Leave things better than you found them. Or at least not worse than you found them. And, to me, that's what it means to be tenderhearted. Just be kind. Forgive people. Not because they "deserve" it, and not even because they apologized, but simply because God (for Christ's sake, not for your sake) forgave you. When Jesus was on the cross He prayed to His Father. And He said, "...Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34). Now I completely believe that He was praying for the people who were literally, physically beating on Him and humiliating Him and nailing Him to a cross in order to try to kill Him. I can see that. They were whipped up into a self-righteous, religious frenzy and really didn't know what they were doing. They chose to have Barabbas freed instead of the King of kings. It's safe to say they missed what was happening. But I also believe Jesus was praying for everybody who had ever been or would ever be. I believe He was praying for humanity. We didn't know what we were doing. We were stumbling around in the dark, doing the best we could with what we had, but not even really knowing that we couldn't do anything because we didn't have anything. That's why the light needed to shine. That's why, when we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. He brought us out of where we were (in Adam) and into where He wanted us to be (HIM). And we had nothing to do with it. So, point being, you forgiving someone has nothing to do with them and everything to do with you. It's what's in YOUR heart that matters. And, by the way, forgiveness is like unlocking a jail cell and then realizing that YOU were the one in prison. You free yourself more than anything or anybody else. But I want to say this as clearly as I can today: Being tenderhearted is being kind. Period. Being nice to people out of the goodness that God has placed inside your heart. Letting what's inside come out, by knowing and believing that it is in there. So be kind. Please rewind. What's that old saying? "Everybody is fighting battles that you know nothing about, so be kind." So much of the time people are focused only on themselves. Their problems. What they are going through. If they do something to you or against you, chances are you are simply collateral damage. So don't take it personally. Even if it is. Don't retaliate. Turn the other cheek. Understand that not everything is about you. Let people be who they are, and go through what they are going through. And love them anyway. Don't love people in spite of their flaws and struggles. Love them in the midst of their flaws and struggles. Because of their flaws and struggles. Let the love that is inside your soft, kind, tender heart come out!