7/25/2023 0 Comments Define tender“But just six days later when they said good-bye, they and their hosts were embracing one another and weeping. “When these delegates first arrived, they were very nervous and timid,” relates a Christian who helped with rooming. At one recent convention, some came from countries where people tend to be reserved when expressing their emotions. At these conventions, local Witnesses meet brothers from faraway lands, and many have opened their homes to foreign delegates. “With unhypocritical brotherly affection,” we should “love one another intensely from the heart.”- 1 Peter 1:22.ĥ, 6. (a) How has Jehovah used international conventions to teach his people about Christian affection? (b) How does the bond between brothers become stronger over a period of time?ĥ Although in this world “the love of the greater number” is cooling off, Jehovah is teaching his modern-day people “to love one another.” ( Matthew 24:12 1 Thessalonians 4:9) International conventions of Jehovah’s Witnesses provide outstanding occasions for this training. ( Galatians 6:10) Thus, The New Testament in Modern English, by J. B. Phillips, renders Romans 12:10: “Let us have real warm affection for one another as between brothers.” And The Jerusalem Bible reads: “Love each other as much as brothers should.” Yes, love among Christians involves more than just logic and duty. As one Bible scholar explains, this means that Christians “are to be marked by a devotion that is characteristic of a loving, close-knit, and mutually supportive family.” Is that how you feel about your Christian brothers and sisters? A warm atmosphere-a feeling of kinship-should permeate the Christian congregation. What is meant by the expression “tender affection”?Ĥ The Greek word that Paul used for “tender affection” is made up of two parts, one meaning friendship and the other, natural affection. In brotherly love have tender affection for one another.”- Romans 12:9, 10.Ĥ. Hence, the apostle Paul urged his fellow believers: “Let your love be without hypocrisy. . . They draw Christians closer not only to one another but also to their heavenly Father. ( 1 Thessalonians 2:8 2 Peter 1:7) Like the facets of a beautiful diamond, all these godly qualities balance and complement one another. How are the Bible terms for affection and love related?ģ In the Scriptures, tender affection, fellow feeling, and compassion are all intimately linked with the noblest of Christian qualities-love. ![]() ![]() They had tender affection for one another.ģ. ![]() Though he was a man of strong conviction, he was also gentle and caring, “as when a nursing mother cherishes her own children.” He wrote to the congregation in Thessalonica: “Having a tender affection for you, we were well pleased to impart to you, not only the good news of God, but also our own souls, because you became beloved to us.” ( 1 Thessalonians 2:7, 8) Later, when Paul told his Ephesian brothers that they would not see him again, “weeping broke out among them all, and they fell upon Paul’s neck and tenderly kissed him.” ( Acts 20:25, 37) Clearly, the relationship between Paul and his brothers went far deeper than shared belief. In the first century, the apostle Paul expressed deep affection for those he served. Don’s tender affection had touched their hearts.Ģ This example involving Don is not unique. As he now lay fighting his final illness, some of his former students traveled thousands of miles to his bedside to say, “Kamsahamnida, kamsahamnida!”-“Thank you, thank you!” in Korean. THROUGHOUT his 43 years of missionary service in the Far East, Don was known for the warmth he felt for those he served. “In brotherly love have tender affection for one another.”- ROMANS 12:10.ġ, 2. What relationship with their brothers did one modern-day missionary and the apostle Paul enjoy?
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