Be Gentle

“Be gentle!” are the words heard from anyone looking after a toddler when they are meeting a small baby or a pet of some sort, it's either then or at the end of a workout when you are cooling down. 

Gentleness isn’t often talked about nowadays and yet Jesus himself said “take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls.” So maybe we should be talking about it more?

We are called to be like Christ and if Christ was gentle and he is calling us to learn from Him, it only makes sense that we need to learn how to be gentle as Jesus is.

In Proverbs 15:1 it says, “a gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” Paul’s letters go on to reiterate our call to be gentle (Philippians 4:5, Colossians 3:12, 1 Timothy 6:11) and he goes as far as to say “What do you prefer? Shall I come to you with a rod of discipline, or shall I come in love and with a gentle spirit? (1 Corinthians 4:21)

Jesus’ gentleness attracted people to Him. It wasn’t only what He was saying that drew people to him, it was who He was. People were comfortable bringing their children to see Jesus and He welcomed them. 

It is a lot easier to say “be gentle” than it is to be gentle. We are the toddlers in this situation, we need to be constantly reminded and we need to learn.

The good news is that we have our help in Christ. His invitation to take His yoke upon us and learn from Him stands to this day. Like toddlers, with Christ’s gentle guidance, we can learn how to be gentle as He is, and by doing this we will find rest for our souls.