Gentleness

The 6th gift of Christmas is gentleness. As Aimee shared yesterday, God is kind. He does things for us out of his kindness. He wants the best for us. Gentleness is however the manner in which he does them. Gentle is an adjective. It describes how actions are performed. 

In His kindness, God knew we needed a savior, so he sent us his son as an atoning sacrifice for our sin. Nothing else he could have done would exhibit more kindness. And in sending his Son, he sent us the gift of gentleness.

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Matt. 11:29

Read the encounters that Jesus had with sinners in the new testament. He is not harsh in his responses to their failures. He doesn’t condemn them, rather he forgives them and encourages them to go on about life enjoying the freedom of forgiveness. For example, in Mark 14 Jesus is not harsh with the the woman of questionable character who comes to him in Simon’s home. She is rebuked harshly by those in attendance, but Jesus says to them, “Leave her alone”. He knew her story, her past, her sin, but he also knew her heart. It mattered more! He treated her with dignity and respect. He was gentle with his words and his actions. 

Gentleness is contrary to our earthly nature. If someone yells at us, our natural response is to yell back. If someone corrects us we tend to defend ourselves or make excuses. If someone needs correcting we often ‘tell them how it is’. In his God-given wisdom, Solomon tells us that “ a gentle word turns away wrath” (Proverbs 15:1). Gentleness is evidenced in the delivery of our words and actions.It is evidenced in our response to other’s words and actions. God does not scold us when we are wrong. He does not make us feel belittled or worthless when we sin. I know this for a fact because I’ve lived it so many times. I believe the best way to show you his gentleness is to tell you my story.

Recently, God spoke conviction to my heart. If you go back to the blog entitled, “Lord, Speak Afresh,“ You will see that God was telling me I needed me to change. And here’s how he gently prompted me to do so. I was whining to God about someone in my life who was always taking and never giving.  As I literally sat in the bathroom I heard, “You’re a being a taker too.” It wasn’t an audible voice, but I knew it was God because I wouldn’t say such a thing about myself. And I knew it wasn’t satan because I didn’t feel condemned. I simply knew I was wrong, and that God wanted me to change.  God needed me to learn to praise him. I was taking more from our relationship than I was giving. Not giving him the praise and glory that he deserves is selfish and sinful of me. But because God was not harsh but rather was so gentle, I couldn’t wait to learn what he wanted me to know.

Now, if God is so gentle with us, why do we respond so harshly to others when they try to correct us? Why, if God is so gentle with us in our sin, do we deny others gentleness when they sin agains us? I believe that this verse sums it up...

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again; Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.  (Philippians 4:4-5)

Gentleness is fruit of the Spirit. It is a gift given to us to in turn be shared with others. I cannot be selfish and harsh while I am praising and rejoicing. Contradicting traits cannot be exhibited at the same time. If I’m harsh then my focus isn’t on praising God. Want to grow in gentleness, then start praising! 

(First Published on December 18, 2013)