The Fruit of The Spirit - Gentleness.
Welcome back to my blog. Today, we are looking at gentleness!
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.” - Galatians 5:22-26.
- We learn more about the fruit of the Spirit in this scripture. We learn that there is not just one characteristic of the fruit of the Spirit, but we learn there are quite a few. It may seem overbearing, but once you are able to master one fruit of the Spirit, the other characteristics will fall into place naturally as The Holy Spirit leads us and works through us. I believe this is why the word ‘fruit’ was used and not ‘fruits’ because once you have one of the characteristics of the fruit of the Spirit, you will be able to access and exhibit the other characteristics also because they work together.
- It becomes up to you to continuously nurture the fruit of the Spirit and to try not to do anything opposing God’s word that may cause you to not exhibit the fruit of the Spirit. Dying to self daily, seeking God’s face and genuinely striving to have a closer walk with God will help you along the way. With that said we are all human beings and we all have the tendency to slip up at times, but because of God’s grace and mercy we can come to Him with a repentant heart. However, we must be sincere and know that we have the assurance that our Father in heaven will forgive us our trespasses, so long as we forgive those who trespass against us.
“For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.” - Ephesians 5:8-10.
We no longer walk in darkness, we walk in the light because we know that we are children of the most High. There is a high calling on our lives where we can walk with our head held high knowing that we are loved and have been redeemed by our Saviour. Walking in the light means that we no longer cling to who we once were, words we once said or things we once did. We walk differently because we strive to make our Father proud. We care little of what the world says and more about what God says. The love He has for us is one we can search the world for, but we will not be able to find such because God loves us differently!
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So, what does gentleness actually mean?!
The dictionary definition of gentleness is:
gentleness /ˈdʒɛntlnəs/
noun
1. the quality of being kind, tender, or mild-mannered. "Michael was admired for his gentleness and tolerance"
Jesus is the best example of someone who showed gentleness. Jesus is very loving and kind, He shows compassion to all.
“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” - Matthew 11:28-30.
When we reflect on it all Jesus could have taken the law into His own hands, He could have chosen to do the opposite and treat others how they really deserved to be treated, but He did not. He displayed love, He walked with love and He is love. Jesus set the tone and the example for all of us to follow. Gentleness like the other fruit of the Spirit is important for us to possess because we are children of the Most High. We strive daily to be more like Christ and less like ourselves.
How can you display gentleness?
Demonstrating gentleness is something we can do throughout our day. Mama you can be kind and considerate to everyone that you meet, always leave them with a little smile on their faces. Something that my daughter and I try to do is always say, “have a lovely day!” or we compliment those we come into contact with. Now, we do not go up to everyone and do this, but when we are being served in a restaurant or we are being served in a shop, we enjoy doing this because we genuinely mean what we are saying and our goal is to spread love and kindness around. It really does make us feel good inside.
Before I would see something nice on someone and think it in my head, but I would not always tell them. Going out of my way to do this really brightens up their day and we can see it on their faces. Maybe that individual is having a difficult day and that one compliment will give them the boost and encouragement they so badly crave. It is lovely to know that you can positively impact someone’s life just by doing God’s work and being a nice, genuine individual who longs to make a difference in the world.
I am not saying that you should do this if it makes you uncomfortable, but pray about it and think about the various ways you can positively spread love. Writing love letters to your child(ren) and putting it in their lunch box is another idea. Volunteering in a shelter or a different establishment in need is also an idea. Your kindness is needed Mama, do not get it go to waste!
Gentleness also is about the way we are as human beings.
How do we speak to others?
Do we use kind and loving words?
Are we considerate?
Do we show compassion?
Exhibiting gentleness within our homes, outside of our homes and especially raising our children is very vital. Children pick up on everything and if we are constantly behaving in a certain way they will believe that is the right way to behave. My daughter is a constant reminder to me of why I MUST do better. Having children positively influences you to be better and to do better. You have this bold desire to ensure that whatever you do, you encourage your child(ren) to always do the right thing. Your conversations change, your actions change and you generally seek to change too.
Proverbs 15:1 states, “A soft answer turneth away wrath: But grievous words stir up anger.”
- When someone says something that opposes your views, how do you respond?
- Why is giving a soft answer the best option?
It can be so difficult at times to respond with love especially when someone has offended you, but choosing to follow God means that we are to die to self daily. We must shred the former man and pray fervently asking God to help us to be more like Him. Respond in love because God is love. Often you will find that silence is golden and it is the best answer to give to someone who seeks to cause disruption or ill feelings.
Choosing to respond out of anger is never the answer because you will be left feeling awful once you have calmed down and had time to reflect. Always seek God and ask Him to guide you - He will.
Reflect on some scriptures relating to gentleness
1. “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.” - James 3:17.
2. “with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;” - Ephesians 4:2 .
3. “But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.” - 1 Timothy 6:11.
We have this promise, “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, Neither have entered into the heart of man, The things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” - 1 Corinthians 2:9. Holding on to this promise and many of the others in the bible will help us to remember that we are just passing through this life. The world is not our home, the things we encounter on earth will no longer affect us once we are caught up to meet our Father in heaven, but for now we must endure with God holding our hands and guiding us.
1. Speak to others with kindness and treat them the way you would desire for someone to treat you. If you would not like someone to be rude to you, then avoid being rude to others.
2. Show compassion to others, try to understand where they are coming from and acknowledge their point of view. Speaking to people with gentleness allows them to see God working within you.
3. Take the time to reflect on every situation before you respond. Pray - think - act.
4. Pray and ask the Holy Spirit to guide you.
5. Die daily to self and keep trusting in the Lord.
Be of good courage Mamas.
I encourage you all to walk with peace in your hearts, know the truth and share the gospel with others.
Did you find any scriptures on gentleness that you would like to share?
What are your thoughts on the following? Comment down below and let’s talk!
1. Which verses stuck out to you?
2. Why do you think gentleness is so important?
3. Do you think we can live in a world without gentleness?
4. What can help us to display more gentleness?
5. Why should we actively work on exhibiting fruit of the Spirit as believers?
With Love,
Roxanne-Sasha x
