DAILY DEVOTIONAL
June 12 — Gentleness, the strong fruit
A spoken reading of this is being recorded — it will appear here soon.
June 12 — Gentleness, the Strong Fruit
"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." — Matthew 11:29 (KJV)
Christ describes Himself with two words: gentle and lowly. Of all the words available to the Son of God, those are the two He picks.
This is worth holding still over. The Lord of all creation, the one through whom everything was made, the one before whom every knee will bow — that one says of Himself, I am gentle. Not severe. Not exacting. Not impatient with the slow learner. Gentle.
The reason this is so hard to believe is that gentleness has been mistaken for weakness for so long. We assume the gentle person is the one who could not be firm if they wanted to. The Gospels say the opposite. Christ is gentle from a position of unmatched strength. He chooses gentleness because He is strong enough to. The bruised reed He will not break. The smoldering wick He will not snuff out. The strength is what makes the gentleness possible.
For a household, this is a permission slip. We do not have to be tough to be the head of our family or our friendships. We can be gentle. We can lower our voice when the room expects us to raise it. We can decline to win the argument when we could win it. The Spirit's fruit is not loud.
Today, when you would normally win a small disagreement at home, let it go. The fruit is in the letting go.
May the Lord bless you and keep you.