BE GENTLE

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.

Philippians 4:5

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

The fourth chapter of Philippians is one of my favorite sections of the New Testament after the Gospels, especially verses 4 through 13. There we find the Apostle Paul concluding his letter with a series of exhortations for the Christian believers in Philippi, “a Roman colony and the leading city of that district of Macedonia” (Acts 16:12).

Around ten days ago, we looked at verse 4 of chapter 4 along with some earlier verses that covered the importance of always striving to live life with a spirit of rejoicing. Today, we look at verse 5 and the following command:

Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. NIV

As we study the scriptures, it can be helpful sometimes to look at different translations of a verse or passage as it can allow us to get more depth and a greater understanding of meaning. When we do this with Philippians 4:5, here’s what we find:

Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. NLT

Always be gentle with others. The Lord will soon be here. CEV

Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand. ESV

Show a gentle attitude toward everyone. The Lord is coming soon. GNT

Let your graciousness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. HCSB

As we look at these different translations in sum, we can glean the kind of life attitude that Paul is encouraging the Philippian Christians to adopt as they await the return of Jesus. He urges them to treat others with consideration, reasonableness, graciousness, and a gentle spirit. And note that they aren’t told to be discriminate in who they apply these behaviors to. Rather, they are to treat everyone with gentleness so all will see it as an integral part of their character as Jesus followers.

Or in other words, they are to display the very gentleness of their Savior who came as the Lamb of God to take away the sins of the world (John 1:29).

Friends, we are called to the same attitude today and in looking at the way people treat each other these days, we could sure use a significant injection of gentleness and consideration into the way we relate to one another.

So where can we find help in this? How can we satisfy this demand to let our gentleness be evident to all people?

The answer is found in the Holy Spirit.

You see, none of us have the strength or power to be perfectly gentle in the way we deal with others. Without help, we are destined to fail miserably. God knew this and provided the holy, divine Counselor, the Holy Spirit Jesus promised would be sent to lead and guide Christians after His time on earth was through. And at the time of Pentecost, God did what His Son said He would do, imparting the Holy Spirit on the first disciples who then carried on the Gospel work and that same Spirit has flowed through the hearts of Christ followers ever since.

Need confirmation that gentleness is a by-product of the Holy Spirit?

Consider these words from the fifth chapter of Galatians:

“...the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Vv. 22-23

Allow the Holy Spirit to lead and guide you, and you will reap the fruits that comes from it with your gentleness, and all the other natures, evident to all.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com