Matthew 11:25-30

Gentleness is not the same as weakness Actually, the aspect of gentleness in the Fruit of the Spirit is the power of God “properly used, not to crush or destroy or dismay, but to protect and build up.” (The Charter of Christ; The Fruit of the Spirit in the Life of our Savior; Jonathan Landry Cruse; Versa Press; East Peoria, IL 2014; p 126)

Jesus lays his heart wide open here in Matthew 11 and assures us He is gentle and humble (or lowly) and, instead of beating us up because of our sin, He invites us to come to Him and receive the rest we need from our battle with sin and its consequences.

Jesus is as gentle as a daddy pulling his crying child to himself to kiss away a boo-boo, or a wife who wraps her arms around her husband who’s had a hard day, or the embrace of a friend who understands we are hurting.

I wonder if this aspect of the Fruit of the Spirit is a bit under-used these days. We are busy people. We want to do something, fix something and move on. What if we allowed the gentleness of Jesus to reach out to others in the same way He’s reached out to us. What if we offered our arms to gently embrace someone whose soul needs rest.

If you are a child of God through the blood of Jesus, the Holy Spirit actually lives in you. I am challenged today to pay attention to the fruit of His presence and reach out to someone who is hurting, someone who is battling, someone whose soul needs rest and allow the gentleness of Jesus to flow through me.

As I was thinking about this fruit today, an old Gaither song came to mind. I’m going to leave it with you today, praying it with you, and challenging you to reveal the Gentle Shepherd to someone today.

Gentle Shepherd, come and lead us, for we need you to help us find our way.
Gentle Shepherd, come and feed us, for we need your strength from day to day.
There’s no other we can turn to who can help us face another day.
Gentle Shepherd, come and lead us, for we need you to help us find our way.