Heart of CompassionSample

Clothed with Gentleness

Have you watched a toddler playing with a baby? If the toddler gets too excited and starts roughhousing, the parents or guardians call out, “Be gentle with the baby!” That’s a tough order for a little kid who just wants to have fun with a new friend.

Gentleness—what comes to mind when you think of this word? Do you use the word gentle to describe yourself?

We are all called to “wear” gentleness like a piece of clothing, and we get this idea from Colossians 3:12 where it’s the fourth item for God’s children to “put on.” But did you know gentleness can also sometimes describe how God relates to us?

God is described as gentle back in the Old Testament. In Isaiah 40, Isaiah was writing to comfort the people of God, and he said this in verse 11: “He [God] tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.”

When you think about all a shepherd does to protect sheep—fight off invaders, walk on steep hills, carry even the smallest lambs to water so they can drink—you learn that gentleness doesn’t mean an absence of strength.

An example of gentleness with strength is service animals. They are trained to use their strength to help people. They are gentle enough to go with their person anywhere—even to be around children—but strong enough to save the person’s life.

Gentleness is needed with action, but it’s also needed in speech. Proverbs 15 opens with this verse: “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” Here, gentleness is the opposite of anger. Our gentle words literally have the power to dilute tension and stop fights.

Gentleness is an incredible gift God has given us to use for the good of the people around us.

What are your strengths? Are some of these skills, abilities, and talents that you can use to help people? Ask God to show you how.

Now pick one of the strengths you shared with God: How can you be gentle as you use this strength in a situation today? Can your words help end a fight at school? Can your actions care for a person in need? Wear God’s gentleness today.

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

© 2023 by Gospel Publishing House, 1445 N. Boonville Ave., Springfield, Missouri 65802. All rights reserved.

Unauthorized duplication is prohibited.