Radical Gentleness

Despite having the full Deity of God powerfully dwelling inside of His bodily form, Jesus Christ was the most gentle human being to ever walk the planet (Colossians 2:9).  Even Jesus described Himself in this way, "I am gentle and lowly in heart" (Matthew 11:29). 

The greek word praus used for gentleness in the Bible, was also used for the word meek or meekness. Often, when people think about the word meek, the word weak comes to mind. But in Christ, meekness does not equal weakness; it equals an unparalleled strength to restrain personal power in moments when everyone else would in fact misuse such a power out of a weakness or inability to utilize self control. And all in order for the greater good to be carried out.

Was Jesus capable of calling upon 10,000 angels to destroy his immediate enemies that nailed him to a tree? Of course! Even He stated "Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?" (Matthew 26:53). But if He would have harnessed all of the power and authority in Himself in that moment, then the greater good of His humble sacrifice would not have been carried out. And the stakes were high, as the stakes were the souls of all of humanity.

When Jesus chooses gentleness, He is choosing to control His power so that the full work and promises of God might be carried out. So when we, as followers of Christ, are called to walk by the same Spirit of gentleness in Galatians 5:22-23, what are we really being called to? Well, like Christ, we are being called to control the power within us in order to deal with others (yes, even our enemies and those who oppose us) with utmost humility FOR THE GREATER GOOD of their soul.

Do we have the power to yell and scream at those who curse us for speaking the truth of God? Absolutely. But doing so would not allow for the full sanctifying work of God to unfold, and in fact, could cause more harm for the gospel than good for the gospel.

The apostle Paul utilized this fruit of the Spirit when dealing with the sins of the church in Corinth. In his letter to this church body, he writes that his aim is to treat them with "the meekness and gentleness of Christ", as he restrained the power he had to condemn their church body for such behaviors. And while he did provide stern warnings of repentance, he also humbly and gently encouraged them in their salvation, pointed them back to their faith in Jesus, and fanned the flame of the Spirit inside of them. 

Throughout the month of September, we will be looking at what the Spirit's radical gentleness tangibly looks like in the life of those who are called in Christ Jesus.