"The gentle are blessed, for they will inherit the earth." Matthew 5:5
When you think of gentle what comes to mind? A hand reaching to help another? A tender moment between a mother and daughter? What about the tender touch of a father messing his son's hair as he shares how proud he is of his son? Oh, the soft breeze that touches your face through an open window? All of these are gentle moments. I think we can all think of gentle moments with a smile upon our face. Gentleness fills the soul with love.
We go to the grocery store for bread, eggs and milk. We are gentle with the bread so it doesn't smash. We are gentle with the eggs so they do not crack. We wouldn't want spilt milk all across the floor with a crashed carton. When we are gentle we take our time. We make sure nothing is bagged on our bread. We make sure our eggs are seperate. We formulate things. We take the time to think things through. We don't just haphazardly move. We take account for each action.
Through gentleness a heart grows past anger. It's able to quiet a crying child. It's the softness of a butterflies wings as it's gently floating through the breeze. It's the morning sun and evening coolness. Gentleness is all around us and it's easy to see if we just take the time to look.
Through gentleness a heart grows past anger. It's able to quiet a crying child. It's the softness of a butterflies wings as it's gently floating through the breeze. It's the morning sun and evening coolness. Gentleness is all around us and it's easy to see if we just take the time to look.
Think of the mother bear or tiger who watches over her young with a fierceness, but gently grabs her young by the nape of the neck to carry them where they should be. Just as a mother will remove her sleeping babe from the car to gently lay them in bed so to not wake them.
Love is gentle. Just take a look at 1 Corinthians 13 to see what is love and what isn't. We have a perfect picture of gentle when we see our Savior on the cross. He didn't show anger. He could have called 10,000 angels to wrap their wings around Him and carry Him gently home, but instead, He stayed. He stayed for you and me. He stayed for love.
This verse shares with us that the gentle will be blessed, but it goes beyond to say they will inherit the land. What land? Heaven. Our home with our Savior. Our home that He is preparing for us today. When we have family coming what do we do? We are hard at work, preparing comfort. We are wanting to warmly welcome our loved ones.
"For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would inherit the world was not through the law, but through the righteousness that comes by faith." Romans 4:13
This was a promise of faith. One that is filled with gentle grace. To be blessed is to be present with the Lord. His Spirit is alive and well as gentleness escapes us and touches another.
Listen to these sweet words of comfort.
(Pass Me Not O Gentle Savior)
Pass me not, O gentle Savior,
Hear my humble cry;
While on others Thou art calling,
Do not pass me by.
Savior, Savior,
Hear my humble cry;
While on others Thou art calling,
Do not pass me by.
Let me at Thy throne of mercy
Find a sweet relief,
Kneeling there in deep contrition;
Help my unbelief.
Trusting only in Thy merit,
Would I seek Thy face;
Heal my wounded, broken spirit,
Save me by Thy grace.
Thou, the Spring of all my comfort,
More than life to me,
Whom have I on earth beside Thee?
Whom in heav’n but Thee?
There is trust in gentleness. There is a faith that cannot be moved. When we touch another in gentleness we are life givers of the love of Christ.
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, self control." Galatians 5:23
We can at times find it difficult to be gentle. Some see it as weak. They couldn't be more wrong. There is self control in gentleness. There is a strength that goes beyond what man is capable of. Gentleness is a gift. It is one to treasure and share. We can ease the burden of a friend by being gentle. We can remove the fear from one who is frightened just by being gentle.
When a blind person touches the face of another it is to envision who they are. They are going beyond what sight can do and capturing something far more grand. They use the gift of touch to find the heart of another. There is beauty in that gentle gift.
In the world we live in at times it can be tough, but we can shine God's grace across this world just by a being gentle. Our Savior gave us the greatest example of all.
