August 3, 2008 by Heather.

Gentleness

Have you ever asked yourself the question: ‘I’ve read that portion a hundred times. How is it I’ve never seen that before?’ This may regularly happen with parts of Scripture we aren’t very familiar with, but recently it happened to me while reading one of my favorite parts of Scripture. The way the verse jumped out at me and practically bit me on the nose was partly due to reading it in a different translation. It was this:

NASB: Let your forbearing spirit be known to all men.

NIV: Let your gentleness be evident to all. Phil 4:5

Forbearance is not an everyday word like gentleness is. I’d like to focus on that quality of gentleness in the believer’s life for it is the ‘gentle that will inherit the earth.’ Matthew 5:5

As Christians we really are up against a hostile world and we need to be tough. We need to have thick skins. But sometimes we spend so much time in developing those skins that out heart too becomes hard. Or perhaps we leave the gentleness to those who are naturally so, and the toughness to those who aren’t gentle naturally. We just stay in our natural personality grooves rather than developing those qualities that our faith requires of all of us.

This is addressing those of us who are naturally tough.

‘Our gentleness should be evident to all.’ We say, ‘My close friends know how soft my heart is. When someone gets to know me they will find it out.’ Well, that is not the point here. It says it should be evident, i.e. obvious, and plain as a pike staff. To whom should it be obvious? Our close friends? Relatives? No. This quality should be evident to all.

Now if you claim that the gentleness is really there, just deep down, I would ask you to take a look to see if it is still there. The Word says ‘For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.’ (Matthew 12:34) If the gentleness is there, it will come out.

Perhaps it would be good to define gentleness. Some dictionary definitions: “amiably kind, mild, quiet, not rough, or severe, courteous, tender.” Another well-known verse enjoins us to be tenderhearted to each other. ‘Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.’ Ephesians 4:32

Because qualities are so hard to describe in the abstract, it will help to think of how we see gentleness in normal life. We have all seen it (been it) with newborns. Some of us may even be afraid to touch a newborn because we think we are not gentle enough. Or we remember how our mother tenderly took care of us when we were ill. So, on the emotional, spiritual and mental planes we can look after each other tenderly. Gentleness can also be a refreshing attitude to encounter. As a gentle breeze is so refreshing on a hot day so we can bring such relief to each other when we meet.

To look at it now from the reverse side, when is gentleness often noticeably lacking in our lives? When are we not kind, or courteous? As this will be read mostly by folks in democratic lands, think of your love and attachment to your rights. Even a small thing like someone cutting ahead of you in line brings on ‘I’ll give him a piece of my mind.’ That piece is not very gentle on the whole. Really does it matter that much? What I find I do is think of all sorts of witty remarks which of course I’d never say. Unfortunately, God looks at the heart.

We all love to champion justice, especially our own. But sometimes we are fighting real evil in the heavenlies made manifest on earth. Perhaps in fighting to stop the murder of our unborn we can get pretty stroppy. We fight the feminist as if she is our enemy. Remember, they are but pawns of the enemy to work his evil. The Lord loves them too, not just their babies.

There is always the need for balance; to love the sinner and hate the sin. If we look at God’s attitude toward sin (deserving of eternal death) and then look at the price he paid to redeem the sinner, we can begin to get a glimmer of His perspective.

Another occasion for Christians to be gentle and often fail is when they encounter sin in the life of a fellow believer. If the sin is in our own life, we are more apt to be gentle to a fault. There may be times when we are required to be tough on a straying brother or sister in our attempts to bring them back, but our heart must always be gentle towards them and that heart attitude should be evident.

Then there are those nice friendly theological debates we get into that can often deteriorate quickly into attacks on the other person’s ability to think, read, use their grey matter, etc. Such debates are good, refreshing and healthy if done in the spirit of gentleness and humility. However, sometimes the temptation to be witty at the other person’s expense is pretty hard to resist. Look for the way of escape.

As always, it is good to look at Jesus as our example. Paul in 2 Cor. 10:1 urges the Corinthians by the meekness and gentleness of Christ. In Him we see the perfect blend of toughness toward sin (cleansing the temple) and gentleness toward the sinner.

When Jesus was dealing with the woman caught in adultery he was gentle with her. But then again he told her in no uncertain terms to leave such a way of life. He was always gentle with those who knew they were sinners and were responding to him. He is portrayed as the Good Shepherd who goes after the one lost sheep. The rich young ruler, who did not respond to Jesus’ call to follow him, filled Jesus’ heart with love. Any account of Jesus with sinners that sense of gentle strength comes through. When dealing with those set up in their own self-esteem, he was harder in manner. But his heart was still soft towards them as we see on the cross. “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” Luke 23:34

In Ephesians 4:1 and 2 we are told to walk in a manner worthy of our calling, which is to be ‘completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.’

Once again let it be stressed that gentleness is not only for those who are so naturally; not a quality just necessary for mothers or people who work with children or the sick and aged. It is a requirement for all of us if we are to live a life worthy of our Lord.

As our Lord was gentle, so must we be.

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August 3, 2008 by Heather.

It is well with my soul

“And when you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us and which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.” Colossians 2:13-14

When we think of Easter hymns, we think of ones whose whole subject is about the cross and resurrection: “Low in the grave he lay,” “Christ the Lord is Risen Today,” “Old Rugged Cross,” and such. These are great hymns for Resurrection Sunday. But many hymns, even Christmas hymns, have the resurrection in them, probably because without the resurrection we have no faith. “One Day” is a great example of such a hymn, it takes you through our Lord’s whole life, even ending with the second coming. Well, this month, because we will celebrate Christ’s resurrection, we thought we would look at such a hymn and the story behind it. In the second verse it refers to Christ shedding his own blood for my soul, and in its third verse it speaks to the affect of the cross, reflecting Colossians 2:13-14 quoted above. First, here are the lyrics to this great hymn of redemption:

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Refrain

It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul. Refrain

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul! Refrain

For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul. Refrain

But, Lord, ‘tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,
The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
Oh trump of the angel! Oh voice of the Lord!
Blessèd hope, blessèd rest of my soul! Refrain

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul. Refrain

Besides the beautiful words to this hymn, we can be even more amazed and blessed when we know of the story behind the lyrics. This poem was written my Horation Spafford, 1828-1888. He was a successful lawyer in Chicago who was also a friend of D.L. Moody, the man who began Moody Bible Institute. He apparently had invested in a lot of real estate in Chicago and lost it all due to the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. For two years after the fire he used his other resources to help the homeless people, even though he lost his son about the same time.

In 1873 he and his family, wife and four daughters, were to travel to Europe and join Moody on one of his crusades. He was delayed and could not travel with his family; they sailed ahead and he was to catch up with them later. The ship that his family was sailing on, the Ville de Havre, was sunk just off the coast of Newfoundland, when it collided with an English sailing ship. It sunk in a matter of 12 minutes. All four of his daughters were lost to the sea, and only his wife Anna was saved, being one of 47 survivors out of hundreds of passengers. The survivors were picked up and taken to Cardiff, Wales from where she sent a cable to her husband saying “Saved alone.”

It is said that when Horatio Spafford crossed the Atlantic he wrote these words “When sorrows like sea billows roll - whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say, It is well, it is well with my soul.” The next two verses give the reason why it could possibly be well with his soul.

Eight years after this tragedy, with his wife and their two new young daughters they immigrated to the Holy Land, settled in Jerusalem and established the American Colony to care for the sick and destitute.

The truth of the death and resurrection of our Lord is a very practical aid to dealing with life’s trials. It is not merely theoretical, and its truths can help us to say “It is well with my soul.”

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