The Way of Gentleness

When God created the world, He saw that it was good (Genesis 1:31). But

when the first humans went their own way against God, sin and brokenness

messed up that goodness. While we are still made in God’s image, and we

like to try to create good things too, we will never reach perfection in

our broken world. We make mistakes. We mess up. For example, I love to

write, and a big part of that process is rewriting. I could rewrite a

thousand times and never be completely content with my work. It’s easy to

get frustrated with myself. Why can’t I get it right? Why can’t it be

perfect? But when Jesus came, He taught us a new waynot one of

perfectionism, but of gentleness. He came to His people, as the prophet

Zechariah foretold, gentle and riding on a donkey (Zechariah 9:9). Jesus

taught His followers to come to Him for rest, because He is gentle and

humble in heart (Matthew 11:28-30). As children of God, we are called to

clothe ourselves with gentlenessto let our gentleness be obvious to those

around us. We can’t do this in our own strength, but the Holy Spirit helps

us (Galatians 5:22-23). Often, learning to be gentle with others starts

with learning to be gentle with ourselves. Have you ever triedand

failedto do something perfectly? Have you ever gotten frustrated with

yourself? Have you ever struggled to forgive yourself after making a

mistake? You’re not alone. I’ve been there. It’s easy to hold grudges

against ourselves. But Jesus promises redemption. He has shown us the

ultimate gentleness and forgiveness. We can be gentle with ourselves

because He is gentle with us. We can forgive ourselves because He has

forgiven us. He took our sin upon Himself when He was nailed to the cross,

and He defeated sin and death when He rose from the dead. One day, our

gentle Savior promises to bring forth a new heaven and a new earth. There

will be no more sin, no more brokenness. But for now, let’s make the most

of our broken world. Instead of striving for perfection, we can rest in

Jesus’s forgiveness and live in the way of gentleness and grace. After all,

that’s how we will show people glimpses of Jesus Christ. Becca Wierwille

Do you sometimes feel like you need to be perfect or do something exactly

right? How might knowing that God is gentle with us help us to be gentle

with ourselves and others? Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord

is near. Philippians 4:5 (NIV)

Read Verses:

Matthew 21:1-Matthew 21:11; Colossians 3:12-Colossians 3:15; Philippians 4:5