Fruits of the Spirit, Part 8: Gentleness that Requires Strength

“But the fruit of the Spirit [the result of His presence within us] is love [unselfish concern for others], joy, [inner] peace, patience [not the ability to wait, but how we act while waiting], kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature together with its passions and appetites. If we [claim to] live by the [Holy] Spirit, we must also walk by the Spirit [with personal integrity, godly character, and moral courage—our conduct empowered by the Holy Spirit]. We must not become conceited, challenging or provoking one another, envying one another.” (Galatians 5: 22-26, AMP)

Okay, so surely gentleness is a redundant fruit of kindness and goodness. If that’s what you’re thinking coming into this devotion, I’d like to challenge you with this idea: for the past 8 weeks, we’ve been unpacking different facets of God’s character that are leant to us through the Holy Spirit. As Christians, when we find God’s character within us, we can be assured that we have lived a life closely with Him, because it is impossible for God’s Spirit to dwell where practices of the flesh are allowed to flourish. Ergo, the more we commit ourselves to a life lived in sacrifice to our Savior and allow Him to take more and more control of our lives, the less we will see of the world within us. 

Does that mean we don’t mess up or fall back into worldly patterns at times? No. To struggle with the flesh is to be human. We will not reach spiritual perfection on this side of eternity. But what it does mean is that the more time spent with Jesus, the more Jesus’ character is implemented in our lives, the more we want to be like Him, and eventually, the more we are like Him– serving an example to the world and living as an extension of Jesus to those that are lost.

So if the kindness of God is His loving concern and desire to help others that are struggling, and the goodness of God is His righteousness that loves, protects, and corrects us back into God-glorifying lifestyle, then what unique purpose does gentleness serve in God’s character?

A lot of times, people say that gentleness is God’s meekness. And usually they follow that thought up with, “Don’t mistake God’s meekness for weakness.” It’s cheesy as the day is long, but it’s true. To the world, meekness simply means submission. It is a weak act to a society that values the “never give in, never give up” mentality. To the Christian, who understands the need for a Savior, meekness is deeper than that. It means yielding to God, the Creator and the Savior, and submitting to Him, without resistance to His will and desires. 

To the Christian, gentleness requires controlled strength and intention. For people, it’s hard to seem fragile or uncertain in front of others, but when it comes to the Holy Spirit within us, showing gentleness to others requires us to put aside our pride and prefer someone else. 

Do you realize that the simple fact of admitting you needed salvation from an all-knowing, all-powerful, good God requires meekness and gentleness? It requires us to take a look at ourselves, admit that we don’t know it all, we can’t keep ourselves from ruin, and we need the strength of someone higher than us to intervene. If you are truly a regenerated Christian, plucked out of the jaws of death and the clutches of the devil, living a genuine life of sacrifice to God, then the prerequisite of humility towards God’s own gentleness towards you is something you have known before.

And that’s not just an emotional response. That’s a decision that affects everything else to the believer: knowing that you are not enough, but there is a God who is and the only way to be saved is to abide in Him and leave everything else behind. 

Off the top of my head, someone in the Bible that showed gentleness was David. When I think of gentleness, I see David hidden in a cave in the wilderness, chased down by King Saul, and relying on God to protect him until it was time to make him King over Saul. In 1 Samuel 24, we see that King Saul wanders into the very cave David was concealing himself in looking to rest. While he did so, David crept up and cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. He had every opportunity to take more than that. If there was ever a moment that David could have ended his hiding in the wilderness and taken the throne, it was this.

But out of gentleness, David passed on this opportunity to kill Saul and simply took a piece of his robe. When Saul left the cave, David called out to him, showing Saul the remnant of Saul’s robes in his hand, proof that David had the opportunity to take Saul out, but decided to allow God to be the judge between them. Essentially, David shows that he was not only gentle in sparing Saul’s life, but also by yielding control of their lives to God, who was the only one fit enough to decide who should be on the throne over Israel.

To me, this example of gentleness shows that in order to be more like Jesus, I have to live in submission to a God that is greater than I and regard other people the way Jesus sees them, regardless of how many faults I see within them with my earthly eyes.

That means when I speak to others, I need to speak gently and in a manner that does not allow for gossip or harshness. When I act, I need to act gently in a way that models God’s love and regards others and worth more than my own selfishness. When I walk by faith, I need to walk gently and remember constantly that I do not know best, but I serve a God that does. And that certainly takes a controlled strength, because my flesh will always be there, looking to challenge or provoke others, reacting in envious conceit.

Remember, even in the presence of Pharisees, Jesus found it in Himself to generously and gently teach God’s heart to them. Why? Because despite their difficult dispositions, their harsh superiority complexes, and their religious short-sightedness, Jesus still saw them as the lost. He saw them as people who needed saving just as badly as those that accepted Him with open arms. And I’m sure it took strength in character to reach out and speak with them gently.

That’s a privilege I have been quick to greedily enjoy, and yet slow to extend out to others I don’t deem worthy of it. But Christ within us should start to convict us that every person deserves the same love and compassion that Christ freely gave, whether or not those people would ever turn to Him in repentance. And I think that kind of gentleness to others is not something that should be carelessly tossed off as unimportant to cultivate, or scorned as a weakness, but revered as a truly precious side of God’s character meant to be humbly asked for to be found within our hearts.