Click this link to hear an audio version of the below text narrated by SOTH member Jerry Rhinehart: http://sothrichfield.podbean.com/
1 Peter 3:8-12
“Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. For, “Whoever would love life and see good days must keep their tongue from evil and their lips from deceitful speech. They must turn from evil and do good; they must seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.””
There are many things we are called, as followers of Jesus Christ, to do. There are many acts of service and worship that we are called and encouraged in which to participate. Yet, as we do these things, we are also given clear guidance on how we are to behave: “Be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble.” (1 Peter 3:8) What we do is so important… how we do it is important too. It’s easy to love the people we like, people we agree with or have something in common with. Sometimes it’s hard to love those that we don’t know or who are different from us. Worse yet, it’s hard to love people that we don’t really like. Today, I invite you to choose to be compassionate and humble to all those you meet. Will it be hard or easy? Today I will be praying for you as you choose compassion, grace, and kindness.