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Gentleness
“I,
therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to have a walk
worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness
and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love”
(Ephesians 4:1-2)
The other day,
as we traveled north in California, we saw these words on the
marquee of the El Toro Baptist Church:
Our Flag
Stolen
We Forgive You
God bless You
How wonderful!
Not, of course, that the flag was stolen, but instead that gentle
forgiveness was the response. The theft (which is sin) was real,
but so was the answer, which rang with an authentic gentleness that
is supposed to characterize us in Christ Jesus. All too often,
though, we vigorously protect our “rights” on this planet, when we
should instead consider our Lord Jesus, who gave up everything
because He loves you and me.
A “scribe” (an
expert in legal matters) came to Jesus, saying “I
will follow You wherever You go” (Matthew 8:19). Jesus
answered, “Foxes have holes and birds of the
air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head”
(Matthew 8:20). Our Lord had NOTHING except the clothes on His
back, and even those were soon to be taken from Him. I hope you
want the Lord more than anything, because, if your aim is for
reputation, position, power or whatever, you’ll be disappointed.
You may achieve them, but if you think about it, EVERYTHING in this
world is only temporary.
“Gentleness”
in the Greek (also translated “meekness”
in the New Testament) does not refer to merely outward behavior. “Prautes”
(gentleness, meekness) is an inward grace of the soul, denoting a
person who no longer struggles against the Lord. This word is
nothing like the English “meek,”
which includes “deficiency in courage”
as one of its key meanings. The Greek word in the New Testament
refers to giving up your own strength, instead receiving the
infinite resources of the Lord. This attitude can be seen in the
words of Zechariah, when the prophet urged Zerubbabel (along with
you and me), to live “not by might nor by
power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord of hosts” (Zechariah
4:6).
Jesus used a
form of the Greek word for “gentleness”
in describing Himself, when He said, “Take
My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle (meek) and lowly
in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew
11:29). We can TRUST our Lord, who ALWAYS acts on our behalf, and
is not at all like the people on this earth, who often attack their
“friends”.
It was in the
news that a U. S. Sergeant in Kuwait, tossed grenades into tents
where his officers were having a meeting. One of the officers was
killed, another died later, and several were injured. It was a
terrible act, for the Sergeant was wearing the uniform of a
“friend”. If it was him that did the act, it actually would have
been better if he had gone over to the enemy, dressed in their
clothes and then fired OPENLY at his former comrades.
What “uniform”
are you wearing? Do you dress, speak and act like a Christian? If
so, how do you act toward other Christians? Do you respond with “lowliness
and gentleness… longsuffering, bearing with
(them)
in love”? Or are you one of those
who tends to be critical? If they are wearing the uniform of a
“Christian”, they may have different marching orders from you. That
is, you may attend one church, with one set of doctrinal beliefs,
and they may be drawn to another, with beliefs that differ from
yours. What is your attitude towards them, considering that you
both take marching orders from the same Lord?
Are you “gentle
(meek) and lowly in heart,”
providing “rest”
to the souls of others? Or, be honest now, are you like those who
attack their own?
Pastor Richard L. Dunagin wrote about
a school carnival, where: “our
kids won four free goldfish (lucky us!); so out I went Saturday
morning to find an aquarium. The first few I priced ranged from $40
to $70. Then,” he said, “I
spotted a discarded 10-gallon display tank, complete with gravel and
filter--for a mere five bucks. Sold! Of course, it was nasty
dirty, but the savings made the two hours of clean-up a breeze!”
Pastor Dunagin continued, “Those
four new fish looked great in their new home, at least for the first
day. But by Sunday one had died. Too bad, but three remained.
Monday morning revealed a second casualty, and by Monday night a
third goldfish had gone belly up. We called in an expert, a member
of our church who has a 30-gallon tank. It didn't take him long to
discover the problem: I had washed the tank with soap, an absolute
no-no. My uninformed efforts had destroyed the very lives I was
trying to protect. Sometimes in our zeal to clean up our own lives
or the lives of others, we unfortunately use "killer
soaps"--condemnation, criticism, nagging, fits of temper. We think
we're doing right, but our harsh, self-righteous treatment is more
than they can bear.”
Amen. If “they” steal the flag from the
front porch of your life, or otherwise do you harm, consider
responding with love. Remember the El Toro Baptist Church, where
they said, “Our Flag Stolen
– We Forgive You
– God Bless You.”
Jesus said, “whoever slaps you on
your right cheek, turn the other to him also”
(Matthew 5:39), and if they love the Lord, but differ with you, love
them anyway. Keep your “bullets” for the enemy and his demons,
responding to one another with the gentleness that comes from God.
Become open toward the
Lord, and receive Him! The bonus is the power of the Holy Spirit of
God. You will be given His strength – to love! Go to the Lord
right now, and discover the powerful “gentleness” He will bring to
you – in Him.
Lord, I receive You
now. I trust in You, understanding that I can surrender my “rights”
and You will watch over me. Forgive me, Lord, and send me Your
Spirit, that I may learn to love. In Jesus Name. Amen.
Ron Beckham, Pastor
Friday Study Ministries
www.fridaystudy.org
E-mail:
Ron@FridayStudy.org
Tel: (562) 688-5559
PO Box 92131
Long Beach, CA 90809-2131
"While
we were yet sinners, Christ died for us"
(Romans 5:8) |
