The Power of a Loving Heart
by Dr. Paul Chappell
“I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep.”
John 10:11–13
The British pastor John Fawcett was saved under the ministry of George Whitefield when he was a teenager. After several years of effective ministry in a small rural church in Yorkshire, England, Fawcett was called to pastor the London church where the renowned John Gill had held the pulpit for many years. Fawcett agreed to make the move. He preached his farewell sermon and had his belongings loaded onto wagons. But as Fawcett looked at the people into whom he had poured his life and saw them weeping, he was struck with the realization that he could not leave them behind.
Fawcett turned down the well-known and well-paid pulpit in London, and spent another thirty-five years in virtual obscurity with his flock. Not long after making the decision to stay, he penned these words that became a famous hymn:
Blest be the tie that binds
Our hearts in Christian love;
The fellowship of kindred minds
Is like to that above.
We share our mutual woes,
Our mutual burdens bear,
And often for each other flows
The sympathizing tear.
Not just pastors but all of God’s people need to have a heart that beats with love and concern for others. There are many excuses and reasons people give to reject the message of the gospel, but a loving heart is hard to refuse. And Christians need other believers to love and care for and encourage them as well. Our hearts must be joined together if the body of Christ is to be healthy.
John 10:11–13
The British pastor John Fawcett was saved under the ministry of George Whitefield when he was a teenager. After several years of effective ministry in a small rural church in Yorkshire, England, Fawcett was called to pastor the London church where the renowned John Gill had held the pulpit for many years. Fawcett agreed to make the move. He preached his farewell sermon and had his belongings loaded onto wagons. But as Fawcett looked at the people into whom he had poured his life and saw them weeping, he was struck with the realization that he could not leave them behind.
Fawcett turned down the well-known and well-paid pulpit in London, and spent another thirty-five years in virtual obscurity with his flock. Not long after making the decision to stay, he penned these words that became a famous hymn:
Blest be the tie that binds
Our hearts in Christian love;
The fellowship of kindred minds
Is like to that above.
We share our mutual woes,
Our mutual burdens bear,
And often for each other flows
The sympathizing tear.
Not just pastors but all of God’s people need to have a heart that beats with love and concern for others. There are many excuses and reasons people give to reject the message of the gospel, but a loving heart is hard to refuse. And Christians need other believers to love and care for and encourage them as well. Our hearts must be joined together if the body of Christ is to be healthy.
Today’s Growth Principle:
Our response to others should not be determined by their behavior toward us, but by our heart toward them.
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