Growing Together – Day 24: Gentleness
READ: Matthew 11:28-29 - Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
Psalm 103:11-14 - For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
13 As a father shows compassion to his children,
so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.
14 For he knows our frame;
he remembers that we are dust.
“Meekness (or Gentleness as in our translation of Galatians 5:23) is an inwrought grace of the soul; and the exercises of it are first and chiefly towards God. It is that temper or spirit in which we accept His dealings with us as good, and therefore without disputing or resisting…it is also gentleness in the face of men, even of evil men, out of a sense that these, with the insults and injuries which they may inflict, are permitted and employed by God for the cherishing and purifying of His elect. Thus, in Galatians 5:23 it is associated with self-control… (Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words – Meekness)
REFLECT: God’s gentleness toward us is rooted in His knowledge of us. He knows that we are heavy laden, and He remembers that we are dust.
Likewise, our gentleness toward others will also be rooted in knowledge.
The knowledge that:
-Our God is just, He has perfect understanding, and He declares it to be His business (and His alone) to avenge wrongs
-Our God has the power to make every wrong, and every failure, serve our wellbeing
-He seeks out those who are His enemies and loves them
-He brings dead things back to life, and
-He was gentle with us.