“Finally, all of you should be of one mind. Sympathize with each other. Love each other as brothers and sisters. Be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude.”
There is so much packed into this one verse I just couldn’t move on to another verse until I sat with this one. At first glance, you read the words and think, “Ok, yeah, that’s sounds nice. Pretty good Christian stuff there…” But then the second time around, perhaps a little more slowly, you may start to ask yourself questions like, “How do we do that?” or “Wait, really? Like, how often?”
Let’s pause on “one mind.” Does that mean we have to agree on everything? Are we doing that? Do Pentecostals and Baptists and Methodists and Catholics really have one mind? Then there’s “sympathize”… What is sympathy? Is it the same as empathy? “Love each other as brothers and sisters…” Just take a second to think about your siblings and consider whether that is a good blueprint for what Peter may be talking about. “Be tenderhearted…” So does that mean I need to be a big, squishy marshmallow and let people walk all over me? Keeping a “humble attitude,” okay maybe sometimes, but keep it? For how long?
Here’s your freedom for today: real love is simplicity in the midst of complexity. Is it hard to figure out all the things this verse is talking about? Are we really able to pull it off? When we break it down, it seems impossible. But that’s exactly the point. Supernatural things are not possible from an earthly perspective. Being of “one mind” is only possible because the Holy Spirit has infused us all with the mind of Christ. Sympathy, in addition to “pity,” is defined as “understanding between people; common feeling.” Humility is an others’ first attitude, which was demonstrated by Jesus. Do you see the pattern here? Jesus never made anything seem all that complicated. He just loved supernaturally, forgave supernaturally, and healed supernaturally. If you are trying to be a “good Christian” in the natural realm, you are going to be a total hypocrite. It’s the only outcome. But loving supernaturally? It’s the power of the Holy Spirit effortlessly moving mountains and hearts in the midst of you pulling up a chair next to someone different from you.