Fruit of the Spirit- Gentleness

⁵ In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

⁶ Who, being in very nature God,
    did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
⁷ rather, he made himself nothing
    by taking the very nature of a servant,
    being made in human likeness.
⁸ And being found in appearance as a man,
    he humbled himself
    by becoming obedient to death—
        even death on a cross!   (Philippians 2:5-8)

Gentleness is our fruit of the spirit for this week, which seems kind of fitting as we are preparing for Holy Week. I don’t know about you, but when I hear “gentle,” my mind immediately goes to babies. Baby humans, baby lambs, baby chicks and bunnies…just all babies! I don’t think I’m alone, because when I asked some of our kids to tell me what the word “gentle” meant, they also all started talking about babies, and how they hold their baby brothers and sisters.

                In our language today, gentleness brings with it the connotation that we need to be careful. We are gentle with babies, with glass, with full cups of water—with things that are fragile, and, for the most part, easily breakable. However, gentleness does equate to weakness. Think of a tamed stallion, who while having power to run and even hurt others, uses that power in a way that is helpful, choosing to submit that great power to the will of a master. The stallion is not losing its ability or giving up its power, but is simply choosing to obey and direct that power toward the commands of another.

                And while the stallion paints a great picture of submissive gentleness, I think an even better example would be to look toward Christ. While Christ did have some things that caused anger in His life, for the most part, He was extremely gentle. He wept over the death of a friend, he gathered little children to Himself, and cared deeply for those around Him. As Jesus lived out those last days and hours before His death, He could have done things differently. He could have demonstrated His power and his ability to save Himself many times over, but instead, He chose to submit His power on our behalf, because of His love for us. We were not his master, as with the stallion, but instead He chose gentleness because He knew what was at stake for us.

                As we move toward Easter, may we too live with gentleness in our hearts. May we remember that people’s hearts are objects with which we need to take care, and may we choose the kind word, the loving action, the decision that doesn’t bolster our own power, but instead chooses to put others above ourselves. And each time we make that decision, may we look toward the perfect example of gentleness and selflessness that Jesus set for us.