The Fruitful Life: Gentleness

By Rev. Matthew Clark

Nice guys finish last. It’s a dog eat dog world. When we hear phrases like this, it sounds as though an attribute such as gentleness is one to be avoided, rather than something to be thankful for! In our world today, there doesn’t seem to be much room for gentleness or gentle people—at least not if you want to get ahead.

For instance, the fashion designer Coco Chanel didn’t have much respect for gentleness, at least not when it came to business. She’s credited as having said, “Gentleness doesn’t get work done—unless you happen to be a hen laying eggs.”

And yet, gentleness is fruit of the spirit.

Perhaps part of the problem with the confusion over whether gentleness is a positive or negative attribute, is that we tend to misunderstand what true gentleness—what a biblical kind of gentleness—really is. Gentleness has been redefined and is often misunderstood as equaling weakness. We wrongly think that gentleness is synonymous with “wimpy” or that being gentle is the same as being a “pushover.”

We think of gentleness as the opposite of strength, yet this isn’t true. For instance, during World War I, British fighter pilots made an amazing discovery. They found that thick layers of silk would often stop low velocity shrapnel better than metal—even steel. So these early airmen wound the silk around their necks and heads, and then wore leather horse riding helmets on top of the silk. The pilots weren’t sure just what gave gentle silk its strength, but they just knew that in certain situations, gentle soft silk proved stronger than cold hard steel.

Gentleness does not equal weakness. And we certainly see this truth in Jesus’ life.

Jesus is the all-powerful creator of the heavens and the earth. Jesus has the power to drive out demons, still storms, raise the dead, and even come back to life. Jesus is mightier than any person, any army, any power. Jesus is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Our Savior is strong and mighty to save!

But at the same time, Jesus is gentle. In the pages of Scripture, we see Jesus demonstrate His gentleness again and again. 

In Matthew 11, Jesus even calls Himself gentle.

“Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.” (vv. 28–30)

This all-powerful Son of God describes Himself as gentle.

In a world where students need to work hard to get good grades, employees need to labor hard to get a promotion, and there’s never ending work to do raising children, our vocations can make us fee heavy laden. It’s tempting to think that salvation works the same way—that to be saved we need to labor hard to be good enough and keep all God’s Commands perfectly. But to think this way would be to put ourselves under the heavy yoke of the law.

By the way, a yoke, such as the one Jesus mentions in Matthew 11, is typically a wooden crosspiece fastened over the necks to two animals (oxen for instance), which would be attached to a plow. A yoke was heavy.  Jesus, however, says that His yoke is easy and His burden is light. Jesus’ yoke is easy because Jesus does all the work. Salvation is a gift. Jesus gives us rest from the impossible task of earning our salvation. Through His bearing the burden of the cross for us, carrying the heavy load of our sin to Calvary, we are now liberated form the burden of sin. Our risen Savior gently receives those who come to Him for forgiveness.

A second scene in the Bible where Jesus is gentle is perhaps the most famous. In Mark 10 we read:

And they were bringing children to Him that He might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it, He was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to Me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” And He took them in His arms and blessed them, laying His hands on them. (vv. 13–16)

Jesus is a busy. He doesn’t have time for something as unimportant as children. Jesus doesn’t have time to be gentle. At least that’s what the disciples thought. But not Jesus. He invites the little children to come to Him, and even uses them as an example of who the kingdom of God belongs to. Can you picture toddlers toddling over to Jesus? Children running and jumping onto His lap? Little babies placed into Jesus arms? And with each child, Jesus gently blesses them.

These are just two scenes where we see the gentleness of Jesus, but the list could go on. We could include, for instance how . . . 

Jesus comes into this earth as a gentle child, laid lowly in a manger.

Jesus calls Himself the Good Shepherd who gently cares for His sheep that He knows by name.

Even dying on the cross, Jesus’ gentleness is evident as He cares for His mother, appointing His disciple John to care for her.

For Christians, God is the one who gives us the blessed fruit of gentleness in our lives. 

Gentleness . . . not as some sign of weakness, but as a sign of being connected to our all-powerful, yet ever-gentle Savior.