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1 Peter 3:8-15
We rush through our daily tasks in this fast-paced world we live in, and frequently take for granted the many blessings God has bestowed upon us.
Indeed, God has bestowed many blessings upon us.
And He calls us to purposefully give Him thanks for them.
Giving thanks is a practice that benefits us in many areas of our lives.
We are less prone to covetousness when our emotions are full with gratitude.
Moreover, when we are thankful for God's blessings, we become less self-centered and more conscious of the needs of people around us.
We overlook out on the needs of others when we are focused on what we want.
We regularly hear about disasters on the news or the suffering of people in need, but we get insensitive to their needs as a result of our self-focus and we fail to provide the help, support, or just our presence.
When we consider the needs of others, we will learn to be grateful and in turn this will cultivate a compassionate heart.
A woman was visiting some people who lived on a farm, and she noticed a pig limping in the backyard with a wooden leg.
She asked the farmer, “What happened to the pig?”
The farmer said, “Oh, Betsy is a wonderful pig.
One night the house caught fire and she oinked so loud she woke us and we got the fire truck in time to save the house.”
The woman said, “That’s really something!”
The farmer continued, “That’s not all, one day my youngest daughter fell into the pond and Betsy oinked so loud that she got our attention and we were able to pull my daughter out of the pond in time.”
The woman said, “That’s really amazing!
But I still don’t understand why the pig has a wooden leg.”
The farmer said, “Well, when you have a pig that special, you don’t want to eat her all at once!”
This farmer was showing his gratitude in phases; his compassion was not genuine.
Compassion has been defined as “your hurt in my heart.”
It's simple for us to feel sad about something —it may be horrible news on social media or a prayer request from someone in our church group—but we often quickly forget about it and move on.
Jesus, on the other hand, was motivated by compassion and acted as a result of it when he saw the crowds.
He was deeply moved by their suffering and actively cared for them.
Today, I want to look at three aspects of the compassion God calls us to show to one another.
I.
The Realm of Compassion
To whom should we show compassion?
The phrase "having compassion one of another" in verse 8 of our text provides at least a partial answer to this question.
Within the body of Christ, we are to be compassionate to one another.
The phrase compassion one of another in this verse means, “to feel with another; to suffer with another; to identify with another.”
God desires for us to have a compassionate heart that leads to action.
It's about recognizing a need and taking the initiative to meet it.
When Jesus Christ sensed our need for redemption and came down to earth to meet it, He displayed compassion toward us.
Similarly, we should have a kind heart for others.
Verse 8 gives us two keys to cultivating compassion in the church family.
A. A Unified Mindset
This verse begins with the command, “Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another.”
We must all have the same mind as Christ.
In truth, the phrase one mind means "to be likeminded, harmonious, and compatible"
It evokes a sense of melodic harmony.
This isn't about uniformity, but about coming together as one.
Our world is often divided, but the church should be a place where we can all come together around shared beliefs and care for one another.
We may disagree on some things, but what unites us in Christ is stronger than what divides us.
Ten days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the people of North Platte, Nebraska, received word that soldiers from their town would be passing through North Platte on the train.
These soldiers were part of the Nebraska National Guard Company D.
Hundreds of mothers and wives showed up at the train depot with care packages, food, and letters to give to these soldiers.
The train eventually arrived but it turned out to be the soldiers from the Kansas National Guard Company D on board, not the Nebraska National Guard Company D boys.
The women watched awkwardly as the soldiers unknown to them descended from the train.
Finally, one mother went up to a young soldier, handed him a care basket intended for her son and thanked him for serving the country.
The other ladies followed her lead and began giving out gifts to the soldiers.
Soon, the town organized a canteen so that everyone could gather to prepare food and distribute care packages to the soldiers passing through on train.
This operation carried on for the next four and a half years.
The women of North Platte prepared sandwiches, cookies, and hot coffee for the soldiers that came through their town.
They served as many as eight thousand soldiers and sailors on some days.
The last train arrived on April 1, 1946.
By then, the North Platte Canteen had served six million soldiers.
The soldiers only had ten minutes during their stop but were richly blessed by the unconditional love they had received.
The fond memory of this kind deed saw the soldiers through the heat of battle and lasted well after the war was over.
In his book Once Upon a Town which made the North Platte Canteen story famous, Bob Greene interviewed the few surviving soldiers who had come through North Platte in the 1940’s.
Their response to the kindness shown to them during a time of hardship was the same—all of them wept.
Suppose you invited someone to your church and 10 years later asked him how the church had influenced his life.
Would the reply be, “Somebody cared for me there”?
Compassion makes a difference in people’s lives; and we must have a unified mindset in showing compassion to one another.
A. A Unified Mindset
B. A Loving Mindset
When we have a unified mindset, we will be loving to one another.
Verse 8 instructs us to “love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous.”
There are three aspects mentioned in this verse:
1. Love as brethren
The love we ought to show to one another is a brotherly, fraternal kind of love.
What are some practical, useful techniques to show compassion to individuals who are in need?
2. Be pitiful.
God also wants us to be pitiful.
The word pitiful does not mean “weak” or “lame,” but rather, “being tenderhearted, full of pity and inward affection.”
As believers, our heart should be full of care for others.
Think through our church family, do you know anyone with a need.
Take some practical steps toward meeting that person’s need this week!
3. Be courteous
The word courteous means “friendly or kind.”
Literally, it means “to be humble-minded.”
Putting others before yourself and giving preference to others.
Do we consider how we might be a blessing to someone in need when we see them?
When we have the mindset of compassion, we will have the desire to show love toward others.
I.
The Realm of Compassion
II.
The Reach of Compassion
All Christians ought to be involved in showing compassion to one another, but how can we demonstrate this compassion?
A. Reach Verbally
In verses 9–11, we are told that we can reach out with compassion by using our words.
Because our words have such a strong impact, we need to be careful how we use them.
We can encourage people by speaking kindly.
When we speak ill of others we might hurt them and create strife.
We can verbally reach out with compassion by using positive words.
Instead of "rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing," we are to provide a "blessing," according to verse 9.
The word blessing translates from the Greek word eulogeó from which we get the word eulogy.
It means “praise, a good word, or a benediction.”
In a funeral, a family member or friend gives a eulogy, speaking words of blessing about the deceased.
God wants our words to encourage and uplift others.
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