My mother used to have this hammer thing, wooden handle and a head with a waffle-like surface. She used it often and well to pulverize some inexpensive cut of meat into something edible. It worked. No sharp knives required.
The process: blunt, intentional and focused transformed tough into tender.
I admit it, my life is filled with fat and gristle. I lack compassion. I value being right, more than being an ambassador of His love.
And God, what does He value? What represents His heart? What characterizes His relationship?
I think I know. Pliable, tender, supple hearts that beat for Him and then for others. This is the heart that God Himself desires.
And so, that would explain it. That’s why the very difficult experiences of a week like this are ordained. They pulverize me into tenderness. They are the hammer thing that I need to soften me. They are the experiences that make me useful to Him.
Then, when I wonder why, and I ponder the reasons, I’m quite sure I know, that He loves me enough to keep me tender.
Rigid solutions won’t feed the flock. They won’t be able to swallow what they can’t chew.
And so I embrace the wooden handle and the waffle-like surface, pound on! Make me tender for your cause. Give me a heart of flesh. Change me.
Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. ~ Ephesians 4:32 (ESV)
Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. ~ 1 Peter 3:8 (ESV)God is kind, but He’s not soft. ~ Romans 2:4 (The Message)
To God be the glory.
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