Be Vulnerable

Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another;

love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous;

Not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling,

but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this,

that you may inherit a blessing.

1 Peter 3:8 (NKJV)

We are called to love.

We are called to be compassionate.

We are called to be tenderhearted.

We are called to bless.

We are called to have one mind.

When I read this I see us in our calling.

I see hearts open and genuine.

I see love pouring out everywhere.

No fear.

This calling is hard.

It's scary.

Having compassion on someone means that we have to feel their heart.

Being tenderhearted means we have to be soft and open. 

Blessing people means that even when we are betrayed we are still called to bless.

Loving means that we put our own selfishness aside for others.

We are called to be vulnerable.

We all want to share our hearts, but that involves being vulnerable.

That means that we have to step out of our box that claims we are doing great and tell someone we aren't doing good.

But fear grips us. 

By being vulnerable we have the risk of getting hurt.

We think "They won't understand."

Or

"They will think I am stupid and weak." 

We are afraid because we fear rejection.

So, we hide it.

We are not made to hide our hearts.

Guard them yes, not hide them.

Above all else,

guard your heart,

for everything you do flows from it.

Proverbs 4:23 (NIV)

Guarding your heart doesn't mean making it hard to the people around you.

It's guarding it from the evil one.

It's checking your heart for it's motives.

It's making sure your heart is flowing from God not your own hurt, or the devil's offense.

We are made for each other.

When God made Adam He made Eve for him. 

He made it so His children needed each other.

Above all we need Him and He leads us to each other.

We become one mind, bringing glory to Our Father.

 We all have strengths and weaknesses.

Our Father created us to be one mind.

He knows that where I am weak another is strong.

Our hurts, our trials, our just plain awful days are hard by ourselves.

If we come together as a body of Christ and raise each other up then we are in a whole different ballgame. 

Those days get less hard, our hurts start to heal, and our trials become triumphs.

Being vulnerable isn't being weak.

It's defeating fear with love.

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear,

because fear involves torment. 

But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.

1 John 4:18 (NKJV)

Being vulnerable is loving.

Love defeats the enemy.

The fear he tries to deceive us with has NO power over love.

 Take over fear and love.

Be vulnerable.