Delightful Tone

Ray Ortlund post:  Tenderhearted

Be . . . tenderhearted.  Ephesians 4:32

It seems inescapable that this word describes a certain emotional tone, a softness of disposition, a heart that feels for others.  Years ago, in a book I have by now forgotten, I read that an English gentleman is defined as “one who would not willingly cause pain.”  And, I would add, one who is eager to relieve it. 
That’s tenderhearted.

The opposite is “bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander . . ., with all malice” (Ephesians 4:31).  That is the world – unforgiven and unforgiving.

In our tough-guy, in-your-face world of today, manly Christian tenderheartedness stands out.  It looks like Jesus.  As Spurgeon noted in his sermon on the passage, the one time Jesus told us about his heart, he described himself as “gentle and lowly” right to the core (Matthew 11:29).  And we all revere him as the clearest revelation of God.

A tenderhearted social environment goes beyond letter-of-the-law compliance with minimal biblical requirements.  It goes all the way, where the grace of the gospel sets a new tone.  It makes our churches radiant with divine beauty, more delightful to members, more convincing to outsiders.