"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance..." Galatians 5:22-23
Gentleness- a mild or kind nature or character; not severe, rough or violent; moral goodness, integrity, kindness
Let's be honest... We all knew I was going to be looking up the definitions, right? I decided to start with the definition of gentleness and move on from there. I truly believe that gentleness is one of those character traits that you simply cannot achieve apart from Jesus.
The Greek word for gentleness used in this verse is the same Greek word used in the New Testament many times to mean good or goodness as well as kindness. If you have any scripture knowledge, then you are probably familiar with what Romans 3:10-12 says and that is this, "As it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one." These verses are speaking of man apart from God. In and of ourselves dwells no good thing! But, and praise God there is a but here, the chapter goes on to say in verses 23-26, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; being justified freely by HIS grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation (an appeasement) through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission (forgiveness) of sins that are past, through the forbearance (patient endurance) of God; To declare, I say, at this time His righteousness: that He might be just, and the justifier of Him which believeth in Jesus." Only in and through Jesus blood and forgiveness of our sins are we made good.
In Colossians 3:12 we read that this gentleness, or kindness, is something that we put on. "Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing (endure/tolerate) one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye." In telling us to put on kindness it implies that it is not something that comes naturally. To put on literally means to sink into (clothing), to clothe oneself.
What does gentleness look like in our day to day life? I'm glad you asked! The ultimate example of this gentle kindness is what has been first shown to us. Ephesians 2:7-9, "That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." The greatest kindness that we have been shown is God's grace, in that He forgives our sins not based on any of our own merit and offers us eternal salvation.
One of the greatest ways that we can show gentleness to those around us is by being gracious and forgiving. To be gracious to someone means that we are pleasantly kind, benevolent and courteous. In Proverbs 11:16 we are told that "A gracious woman retains honor..." and "The words of a wise man's mouth are gracious..." Ecclesiastes 10:12.
To forgive someone means not just to grant pardon to a person, but also to cease to feel resentment against them. Believe me, I know how hard it can be to forgive someone, especially someone who isn't sorry and who seems to be unforgivable. But also believe this: It is NECESSARY and VITAL that we do it anyways! Many times it comes down to forgiving simply for the well being of our own hearts. Many times the object of our forgiveness doesn't even realize the extent of our resentment towards them. Unforgiveness is a poison that only eats away at and destroys our own hearts. The Bible shows us time and time again how big of a part forgiveness plays in the Christian walk.
"For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: but if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." Matthew 6:14-15
"And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses." Mark 11:25-26
"Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him: and if he repent, thou shalt forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him." Luke 17:3-4
The thing that really stands out to me in the above three verses is that they give you three different settings. The first verses are simply a call to forgive. Forgive anytime, anywhere, anything, anyone. This is so that God can forgive us. The second verse is a call to forgive in your quiet time with God. This is forgiving someone without that person even having any knowledge of what is happening. This is forgiveness necessary to purify your heart before God. The third verse is a call to forgive when the person who has wronged you is present and repentant over their actions and specifically asks you to forgive them. Even if they ask many times in a day, our response is to be the same; forgive. Based on these verse we can see that our forgiveness of others is not solely based on their merits but on the fact that as we have been forgiven, so we are to forgive.
So, what is gentleness? Gentleness is kindness. Gentleness is graciousness. Gentleness is forgiveness. Gentleness is tolerance. Gentleness is soft spoken words of encouragement. Gentleness is honesty. Gentleness is peaceful. Gentleness is merciful. Gentleness is meekness. Gentleness is courteous. Gentleness is soothing. Gentleness is self sacrificing.
Gentleness is Christ in me.
One of the greatest ways that we can show gentleness to those around us is by being gracious and forgiving. To be gracious to someone means that we are pleasantly kind, benevolent and courteous. In Proverbs 11:16 we are told that "A gracious woman retains honor..." and "The words of a wise man's mouth are gracious..." Ecclesiastes 10:12.
To forgive someone means not just to grant pardon to a person, but also to cease to feel resentment against them. Believe me, I know how hard it can be to forgive someone, especially someone who isn't sorry and who seems to be unforgivable. But also believe this: It is NECESSARY and VITAL that we do it anyways! Many times it comes down to forgiving simply for the well being of our own hearts. Many times the object of our forgiveness doesn't even realize the extent of our resentment towards them. Unforgiveness is a poison that only eats away at and destroys our own hearts. The Bible shows us time and time again how big of a part forgiveness plays in the Christian walk.
"For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: but if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." Matthew 6:14-15
"And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses." Mark 11:25-26
"Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him: and if he repent, thou shalt forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him." Luke 17:3-4
The thing that really stands out to me in the above three verses is that they give you three different settings. The first verses are simply a call to forgive. Forgive anytime, anywhere, anything, anyone. This is so that God can forgive us. The second verse is a call to forgive in your quiet time with God. This is forgiving someone without that person even having any knowledge of what is happening. This is forgiveness necessary to purify your heart before God. The third verse is a call to forgive when the person who has wronged you is present and repentant over their actions and specifically asks you to forgive them. Even if they ask many times in a day, our response is to be the same; forgive. Based on these verse we can see that our forgiveness of others is not solely based on their merits but on the fact that as we have been forgiven, so we are to forgive.
So, what is gentleness? Gentleness is kindness. Gentleness is graciousness. Gentleness is forgiveness. Gentleness is tolerance. Gentleness is soft spoken words of encouragement. Gentleness is honesty. Gentleness is peaceful. Gentleness is merciful. Gentleness is meekness. Gentleness is courteous. Gentleness is soothing. Gentleness is self sacrificing.
Gentleness is Christ in me.
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