God tells us in His Word that we should be growing in unity, with a greater capacity of gratitude to Him and compassion for others. He tells us in Ephesians 4:32(ESV), “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” In 1Peter 3:8(ESV), He instructs us to “have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind.” These are all really beautiful qualities to master and live by, and we should be so incredibly thankful to serve and love a God who wants us to possess them.

There should be no doubt in our minds that God wants the best for His people. And the best is to live in Him and through His nature. He has commanded us to follow the example of Christ, because goodness, justice, righteousness, and holiness are the signature characteristics in Christ and these things delight the Father. He is all of those things and more, and He wants us to be like Him. In Ephesians 5:1-2(ESV), He tells us, “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”

We were made in our Heavenly Father’s image because He wants us to fellowship and commune with Him. He desires a relationship with us, and He specifically created human beings for this purpose. All of life is designed to remind us of our Creator and our identity in Christ. And we should know that our commitment and loyalty to our Creator and the humility required to live and love like Christ will be continually tested. It is tested by satan, because he aims to bring us under his power and influence, and he can legally do this if we refuse to imitate God and walk in His love.

1John 3:1(ESV) states, “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.” We’re living in a time like no other. Whether a person is a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ or not, it is clear that something has changed. People are divisive, cold, and often cruel to one another, and this is not what God wants. Sadly, most individuals living on this planet have turned their backs on Him. Our current environment and circumstances bear this out. They do not want to know what pleases God and are not interested in honoring Him with their lives. However, God’s children can’t be this way.

The world doesn’t recognize us, and we should never follow the world. God has set us apart as His very own, and He wants the light of Christ to beam continually from our hearts. As His children, we should be getting closer to the image of Christ, and not further away from it. God sent Jesus Christ to the earth to give his life as a sacrifice for our sins. He saved us from eternal death and darkness because he loves us. He gave everything to us, and we must submit ourselves to him. We are the body of Christ, his ekklesia—his church, and Ephesians 5:26-27(NLT) tells us that he gave up his life for his church “to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault.”

We must come into consciousness about God’s vision for the body of Christ. As believers, unity doesn’t happen by osmosis. As citizens of heaven, we must consciously make God’s goodness and the unity of Christ a priority. This means that we will face some battles and many of those will be in our own minds. The gravitational pull of selfishness, greed, and hypocrisy are strong. The world is aiming to capture our attention and focus, but we must resist this and cling ever so tightly to God. This doesn’t mean that we withdraw and disconnect from those that haven’t known the sweetness of our Savior. It means that we commit to love others through the love of Jesus Christ in a greater way, and that we actively seek out ways to have unity of mind, humility, and a tender heart like Christ.

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV) is adapted from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved. 

“Have Unity of Mind, Humility, and A Tender Heart”, written for Springfield Fellowship © 2022. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.