40 Days Pondering the Fruit of the Spirit
Dr Jim Brown's TruNorth Devotional
40 Days PONDERING the FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT
Day 19 | GENTLENESS
40 Days PONDERING the FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT
Day 19 | GENTLENESS
GENTLENESS
Ephesians 4:1-3
“As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” (NIV)
Have you ever been treated harshly? Maybe by a parent, boss, teacher, or someone? How did you feel? Well, I can guess that besides feeling bad, it also put a wedge between you and the other person. So then what happens is that we try subconsciously, as much as possible, to avoid that person or situation in the future.
In the early years of the church – when this letter to the Ephesians was written – there were many outside pressures on this “new thing” wherein people called themselves “Christians.” The Jews didn’t like them; the Romans didn’t like them; so all they had was each other.
Thus the encouragement from Paul to “Be completely humble and gentle and patient and bearing with one another.”
Let’s face it; nearly everyone can be annoying at one time or another. It is then that we need to be GENTLE with them… as Paul is encouraging here.
So you might add, “What good will that do? The person is still annoying!” Yes, perhaps so. But the Holy Spirit led Paul to write what he wrote here and the big takeaway for me is found in verse three: “Make every effort to keep the UNITY of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”
Although we’re 2000 years away from Paul’s day, there are still pressures on ALL the churches and the Christians in them. We need UNITY today in our churches as much as Paul did then.
GENTLENESS is a key to that unity.
Prayer: LORD, remind me of these verses and help me live them, for Your honor and glory. Amen.
Ephesians 4:1-3
“As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” (NIV)
Have you ever been treated harshly? Maybe by a parent, boss, teacher, or someone? How did you feel? Well, I can guess that besides feeling bad, it also put a wedge between you and the other person. So then what happens is that we try subconsciously, as much as possible, to avoid that person or situation in the future.
In the early years of the church – when this letter to the Ephesians was written – there were many outside pressures on this “new thing” wherein people called themselves “Christians.” The Jews didn’t like them; the Romans didn’t like them; so all they had was each other.
Thus the encouragement from Paul to “Be completely humble and gentle and patient and bearing with one another.”
Let’s face it; nearly everyone can be annoying at one time or another. It is then that we need to be GENTLE with them… as Paul is encouraging here.
So you might add, “What good will that do? The person is still annoying!” Yes, perhaps so. But the Holy Spirit led Paul to write what he wrote here and the big takeaway for me is found in verse three: “Make every effort to keep the UNITY of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”
Although we’re 2000 years away from Paul’s day, there are still pressures on ALL the churches and the Christians in them. We need UNITY today in our churches as much as Paul did then.
GENTLENESS is a key to that unity.
Prayer: LORD, remind me of these verses and help me live them, for Your honor and glory. Amen.
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