The context of 1 Peter 3:8 is the love towards fellow believers that ought to be visible from those in the world as the phrase “one another” indicates. Verse 8 gives us five characteristics of “loving one another” that those who have experienced such a great salvation ought to manifest:
• “Be of one mind”: The Greek word means to be “like minded” but doesn’t express uniformity only unity. The character of a person is determined by what they give their mind and attention towards. Followers of Christ ought to be united in our common outlook on life and our common passion for Jesus. We are also “Like Minded” as we should share the “mind of Christ”.
• “Have compassion”: The Greek word is where we get our English word “sympathy” from and is made up of two words “to be affected” and “to feel” literally it means to “to have fellow-feelings towards another” as we share in their sorrow or their joy and have the same feelings as they do. As believers in Jesus, we need to be able to “rejoice with those that rejoice and weep with those that weep”, Rom 12:15.
• “Love as brothers”: The Greek has this as “be brethren who are loving” and speaks of the human affection and fondness that places two in the same family and makes us realize that “blood is indeed thicker than water”. How differently the world would see Jesus if they would see believers from different fellowships exhibit behavior towards each other that indicated that they belonged to the same family. This doesn’t mean that we have to see everything eye-to-eye but that even when we disagree, we would do so in a way that values the person far above the disagreement.
• “Be tenderhearted”: In some translations the word is “pitiful” but that is outdated and should be better translated as “tenderhearted.” The truth is that the continual effect of the Love of Jesus upon our hearts ought to have a tenderizing effect upon our hearts towards others especially in the same family. A lack of a tenderhearted attitude towards others is an indication that the heart of that person has yet to be tenderized enough to love others the way in which they have been loved!
• “Be courteous”: The word in the Greek here is one that means “humble-minded” and reflects the heart behind the action of being “courteous” towards others. A humble person demonstrates this by putting others first. It’s the attitude of the heart that always sees oneself as the worst sinner they have ever met and is so grateful to God for His lovingkindness that they are on a mission to share these in demonstrations of courteous actions.