Inherit a Blessing

1 Peter 3:8-9 Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. 9 Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.
 
WHEN God called you to faith, he gave you a gift – an inheritance of eternal life. As you live in the power of his Spirit, God has also given to you an inheritance of his character to guide your life now. In this way God has blessed you. He has bestowed on you his character. When you bless others, you share the gift. You offer them such godly traits as love, joy, peace and kindness God has given you.  
   Peter gives five elements of God’s character to help the church live into its eternal inheritance:  To live in harmony, to be sympathetic, to love as brothers and sisters, to be compassionate and humble and to reject evil and insults. Jesus has shown us how.
   Jesus’ incarnation is a powerful example of Christian harmony. Jesus gave up his glory, so he could reveal the fullness of God’s blessings to mankind. The cross is the bridge that crosses sin’s dividing chasm between mankind and God. We will live in harmony with one another when we cross that bridge to be unified with Jesus. We will then put aside divisive claims to superiority or privilege. In Christ, we are one in Spirit, called to serve each other as Jesus served us.    
   Jesus sympathized with our weaknesses. He was compassionate to heal the sick and free those captive to demons. He took time to feed the thousands and heal the lame and lepers. He wept over death and sympathized with the broken. When we have such sympathy and compassion to care for people in their times of trial, we will bless them with God’s care. We each have some challenge in our lives. A listening ear, a gentle hug, a timely phone call or card and a faithful prayer will do much to bless another with compassion and sympathy.
   Then Peter calls us to a very radical blessing: repay evil with blessing, How can we offer God’s character to evil people? Again we look to Jesus. Through his ministry and his victory over death, he has blessed us who were born evil. We are God’s enemies until the Spirit opens our minds to call Jesus, “Savior.” To bless someone who is evil to us is to speak kindly with patience, humility, love and forgiveness. These are God’s ways to turn your heart to his good. These must be our ways to turn evil hearts toward God. Obedience to such commands was one way the church overcame persecution to become accepted in the culture.
          When you demonstrate God’s character to others in the church and to the world, God will bless you with greater portions of his character. You will become more of God and less of yourself – more holy as he is holy.