Honey From The Rock

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Honey From The Rock
Psalm 81:16

"Sweet Stuff From God's Word"

A daily Bible study with Victor Knowles
Copyright 2007

THE GRACE OF GENTLENESS

This entry was posted on 04-30-2008 and is filed under uncategorized.

The eighth fruit of the Spirit is called "gentleness" ("meekness" in some translations). What a dearth of gentleness there is in these days of "road rage" and instant anger. I remember how gentle my mother was with me, especially when I was ill. Mom was a nurse at one time. The Hebrew word for gentleness means "to bend low." I remember when Mom bent low over me when I was sick in bed. (She always gave me Bubble-Up for my upset stomach. How many of you can remember Bubble-Up?).

"Gentle" appears 18 times in the NIV and "gentleness" 6 times. Christ is noted for His gentleness (2 Cor. 10:1). Our gentleness should be evident to all (Phil. 4:5). Is it? I hope so. Remember that others are watching and listening, some just to see if we trip up as a Christian. We are to clothe ourselves with gentleness (Col. 3:12). Think about that when you get dressed in the morning. Now where is that garment of gentleness? Ah, there it is. A perfect fit! Paul told Timothy to pursue gentleness (1 Tim. 6:11). We should too. Peter counsels us to share our faith with others but to do so "with gentleness and respect" (1 Pet. 3:15). My friend Gene Shelburne tells of a Texas tornado-style evangelist who came to town and "pointed a haughty finger not three inches from a visiting Catholic priest's nose and screamed, 'You are going to hell!'" Shelburne noted, "How strange that we would use hateful words to tell men and women that God loves them!"

Prayer/Hymn: O to be like Thee! Full of compassion, loving, forgiving, tender and kind. Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting, seeking the wand'ring sinner to find. (Thomas O. Chisholm)