The Way of Tenderness

While this blog is about hope, it's also a place where I like to share what God is teaching me and address some of the things that Christians are facing. I am currently reading Abba's Child by Brennan Manning and have been challenged time and time again to rethink what it means to be a compassionate Christian. I'm not sure about you, but I feel like I encounter more angry Christians than compassionate Christians. Somewhere along the line, we have gotten so caught up in looking at what people DO that we've forgotten what they ARE.
In the second chapter of his book, Brennan says," The way of tenderness avoids blind fanaticism. Instead it seeks to see with penetrating clarity. The compassion of God in our hearts opens our eyes to the unique worth of each person." He later goes on to say, "Living in the wisdom of accepted tenderness profoundly affects my perception of reality, the way I respond to people and their life situations. How I treat my brothers and sisters from day to day whether they be Caucasian, African, Asian, or Hispanic; how I react to the sin scarred wino on the street; how I respond to interruptions from people I dislike; how I deal with ordinary people in their ordinary unbelief on an ordinary day will speak the truth of who I am more poignantly."
This is such an important truth as this was the way of Jesus. We often site Him being hard on the Pharisees while being tender with sinners, but the truth is He loved them all the same. People are difficult...this is a fact of life. Everyone in your life will hurt you, and you will hurt them! But, this is where the way of tenderness comes in. When someone responds to you in anger, choose the high ground of tenderness and watch as their feelings pour through the mask of rage that hides their pain. Let Jesus be who He is through you, and you will see something quite the opposite of the traditional Christian. People are unique. People are all different. And people are made in the image of God which wins them the ability to be treated as such. A hug after a mean word, a listening ear for an angry rant, and a kind word or prayer is the best gift you can give. Our world is filled with angry people...Christians and non Christians alike. If we truly want to be salt and light, we must embrace the way of tenderness.
Brennan ends the chapter this way, "What is indiscriminate compassion? Take a look at a rose. Is it possible for the rose to say, 'I'll offer my fragrance to good people and withhold it from bad people? Or can you imagine a lamp that withholds its rays from a wicked person who seeks to walk in it's light? It could do that only by ceasing to be a lamp. And observe how helplessly and indiscriminately a tree gives its shade to everyone, good and bad, young and old, high and low; to animals and humans and every living creature - even to the one who seeks to cut it down. This is the first quality of compassion - its indiscriminate character."