The fruit of gentleness is a worthy way of knowing that God lives in you.
It is difficult to be gentle when aggravating factors are around. It is difficult to be gentle when disappointment, dismay and disaster strikes. It is difficult to be gentle when there’s a great sense of jubilation at a wrong made right. In those cases boasting or aggression are understandable responses.
Being gentle is sometimes misconstrued as weakness and an ineffective response. It is not considered as assertive to dealing with issues to be gentle. When people think of leaders, being gentle is not one of the aspects related with them. Yet the greatest leader to ever walk the earth was depicted as gentle. Jesus certainly was not weak. He certainly was not ineffective. Consider however His approach to others to get the idea of what gentleness looks like. Being gentle does not stop you addressing wrong, but you address wrong in a way that encourages the other. It is not bombastic, overly aggressive, intimidating or selfish.
See Jesus as He restores Peter after the resurrection. The capacity to forgive and restore is a key hallmark of the gentle spirit. This is why Paul encourages the brethren in Galatia to be gentle in carrying the burdens of others and particularly restoring those who are found in a fault. The heart to restore is a gentle one. The heart to relate and engage requires gentleness to help others. This is why it’s a key quality that is produced when the Spirit of God lives in us.
For His Name’s Sake
Shalom
C. L. J. Dryden
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