“And to
godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you
possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being
ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 2
Peter 1:7-8(NIV)
Brotherly
kindness—we exercise it by greeting one another, sharing concerns and griefs. A
practical aspect is praying for others, communicating gentle thoughts when
another is in turmoil.
Love—we
demonstrate the practice of patience and kindness especially during another’s
time of grief or turmoil. Peter tells us of a positive aspect to possessing
these qualities increase in our hearts. We will be more effective and
productive in what we know of Jesus.
Several
years ago, I had occasion to pray and cry at an altar with a devout Christian
lady. We were in a revival. An event happened with some of the congregants that
tore the rest of the people apart. I choose not to repeat the sin that was
uncovered. We were all devastated. I remember us crying to the LORD together.
We became closer because of our shared grief. Several of the people I worship
with in another church were in that meeting. We all came away from that service
closer to God and closer to each other.
We all
should treat one another with love and kindness, no matter what issue we face.
I believe in times of crisis, it is always better to be able to share the grief/concern with others... I just don't think the good Lord made us to be silent in times of need...
ReplyDeleteMark: A lady who lived in the neighborhood of our old church always said." I need to share this with Jesus with skin on."
DeleteHi Cecelia! How wonderful that there was someone there to grieve with...to come together and pray for the help and blessing of the Lord. I do believe that good times and bad are both 'bonders'. God knows how to pull good out of bad, doesn't he?
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Ceil
Ceil: Thank you for your insight. God sometimes has to allow the harsh times in order for us to get our priorities where they should be.
Delete