2. The Depth of Christian Kindness
The point here is that Christian kindness is not merely an external change of manners; it is an internal change of heart. Verse 32 says, "Be kind to one another, tenderhearted. . ." Christian kindness is tenderhearted. If the heart is hard on the inside and the manners are meek and polite and helpful on the outside, it is not Christian kindness.
The idea behind "tenderhearted" is that our insides are easily touched. When your skin is tender, it doesn't take a very hard touch to make it feel pain. When your heart is tender, it is easily affected. It feels easily and quickly.
When you stop and think about it, it is remarkable that this is commanded by the apostle. You can't just decide to be tenderhearted and turn it on like a faucet. It is a deep character quality. Where does it come from? How can we obey this command to make our kindness to each other deep and heart-felt, not superficial and cool? We will see as we move on.
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