Fruit of Gentleness
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December 13, 2015 |
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 Senior Pastor Dr. Jaerock Lee
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law" (Galatians 5:22-23).
Generally, people say that one is gentle when he has mild and temperate personality. But the spiritual gentleness God recognizes is not just about being soft and mild. Then, of the nine fruits of the Spirit, how is one to achieve this fruit of 'gentleness'?
1. It is having the heart to understand and harbor all people
Spiritual gentleness is to have wisdom and the ability to discern between the right and wrong while at the same time understanding and accepting everybody because there is no evil in such people. Namely, it is to have virtuous generosity coupled with a mild and temperate character. If you have this virtuous generosity, you won't just be mild all the time, but you also have dignity when necessary.
The heart of the gentle person is as soft as cotton. If you throw a stone at cotton or poke it with a needle, the cotton will just cover and embrace them. Likewise, no matter how other people treat him, a gentle person will not have hard-feelings in his heart toward them. Namely, he doesn't get angry or have discomfort. Also, he does not cause others to experience discomfort, either. He does not pass judgment or condemnation, but understands and accepts others.
People will feel comfort from such a person so many people can come and find rest in him. It's just like a big tree with many branches so the birds can come, nest and rest in the branches.
For example, Moses was acknowledged by God for his gentleness. Numbers 12:3 says, "Now the man Moses was very humble, more than any man who was on the face of the earth." The number of the sons of Israel was more than 600,000 adult men. Including women and children it would have been much more than 2 million. Leading such a number of people in itself would be a very difficult task for an ordinary person. The Israelites complained and stood against Moses even though Moses showed them such great power. Just by seeing the fact that Moses led such people in the wilderness for 40 years, we can understand how gentle Moses had been.
Matthew 5:5 says, "Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth." Here, to inherit the earth does not mean you will receive a piece of land on this earth. It means that to the extent to which you accomplish gentleness, you will receive a large piece of land in Heaven.
Even though you have a very big piece of land on earth, you cannot take it to Heaven. But if you receive land in Heaven by accomplishing gentleness, it will be your eternal inheritance. In that place you can spend happy moments forever with the Lord and those who are dear to you.
2. Spiritual gentleness is like good soil
Spiritually, a gentle heart is likened to the good soil. If a man has a lot of evil, his heart is hardened like the soil of the roadside and he cannot accept the truth. Even if he hears the truth and receives God's grace, he soon has doubt and the grace pours out from him as he forsakes the grace to gain worldly things. But even this kind of heart-soil can be changed into good soil if the person diligently works to change it.
Even the most barren land can be changed into a good soil if the farmer cultivates it diligently. Just as the characters of the field can be changed, men's hearts can also be changed by the power of God.
Even the hearts that are hardened like the field along the road can be plowed by the help of the Holy Spirit. Even the hearts that have a lot of evil can be changed into a gentle heart once the evil is cast away. Even hearts full of envy, jealousy, quarrelling and other forms of evil can become mild and gentle. The more you cultivate your heart this way, the more of the fruit of gentleness you will bear.
But your heart cannot be changed automatically just because you have received the Holy Spirit. There must be your own effort, too. You have to pray continually and fervently and try to think, speak, and act in truth in all things. You should not give up after several weeks or months, but you have to keep up your effort until the end. When you show this kind of effort, God will consider it and give you His grace and power, and the Holy Spirit will help you.
As you cultivate your heart-field into good soil, you will automatically bear other fruits of the Holy Spirit, too. But gentleness is more closely related with the plowing of the heart-field. You cannot become gentle unless you cast away hot-temper, hatred, envy, greed, quarrelling, boasting, self-righteousness, etc. With such characters of heart, other people cannot find rest in you.
That is why gentleness has a closer link with sanctification itself than other fruits of the Holy Spirit. If you have spiritual gentleness, you will receive answers to anything you ask, just like you get good fruit when you sow in a good field. You will also hear the voice of the Holy Spirit clearly so you will prosper in all things.
3. The spiritual gentleness with virtuous generosity
First, virtuous generosity appears as dignified and moderate actions. Those who are just mild all the time without proper discernments cannot accept others. They will be looked down upon and used by others. Likewise, those who have both gentleness and virtuous generosity have a proper standard of judgment. They do what is righteous by discerning what is right and wrong correctly.
When Jesus purified the Temple and rebuked the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and the scribes, He was very compelling and stern. He has a gentle heart so as not to 'break a bruised reed or snuff out a smoldering wick', but still He rebuked the people harshly when He had to. If you have such dignity and righteousness in heart, people cannot look down on you even though you never raise your voice or try to become stern.
Outward appearance is also related to possessing the manners of the Lord and the perfect deeds of the body. A virtuous person has dignity, authority and importance in his words; he doesn't carelessly speak meaningless words. He puts on appropriate clothes for each occasion. He has mild facial expressions, but not brusque or cold faces. He who is virtuous and generous will do everything with uprightness, and he also has the consideration to make people feel comfortable.
Next, virtuous generosity shows as actions of mercy and compassion. They not only help those who are in financial need but also those who are spiritually weary and weak by comforting them and showing them grace.
For example, suppose there is a believer who is suffering from persecutions for her faith. Here, some leaders feel compassion only in their hearts. On the other hand, some other leaders encourage and comfort her and also help her according to her situation. When the gentleness shows on the outside as virtuous deeds, it can give grace and life to others.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, when things do not go as they want, some people say, "I can't help it because I was born like this." But those who believe in God must not speak such words. We can change the characters and even inner heart by the works of the Holy Spirit.
Even short-temperedness, boasting, self-centered minds and strong self-righteousness can be changed in nature resulting in a gentle and virtuous heart if the evil is cast away and the heart is cultivated. Even very introverted and timid characters can become bold and generous to help many others.
I hope you will diligently cultivate your heart and bear the beautiful fruit of gentleness so that you will become a great vessel like Moses.
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