“But you, man of God … pursue … gentleness.”
1 Timothy 6:11
From my Journal 2005…Best to start this story from the beginning… Read “Travel Lines – 1: The Self Train Line – Derailed”
The description of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem was not of a king ordained in royal garment riding in a carriage or a warrior dressed in armor commanding a chariot:
“See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey …”1
Some translations use the words humble or lowly to describe the character of the King of God’s people. Think about this: You are preparing for your formal presentation to the people you represent as their chosen leader—chosen by God, not by man. How would you present yourself? Dignified with great stature and importance? Powerful with a battalion of armed forces and artillery? Or as a god, requiring everyone to bow on his or her knees?
Jesus, the Son of God our Creator, was prophesied hundreds of years earlier by Zechariah, to present formally Himself to the people of Jerusalem as a gentle, humble, and lowly king. Why? Jesus’ earthly sojourn as the Son of Man demonstrated character traits with which we are to clothe ourselves—kindness, goodness, and gentleness. The first character trait Jesus formally presented to the people of Jerusalem was gentleness. God’s people had witnessed for hundreds of years a God of Law that punished His children with the harshness and wrath of His creation—flood, fire, war, death, and captivity. Now God wanted to draw to Himself the hearts of His people. He wanted His children to know Him as Father—Abba2— and His Son as Redeemer.3 Father God brought His Son into the world in the lowliest fashion in a stable amongst the barn animals and presented their King riding on a borrowed donkey.
God’s people were drawn to Jesus because the character of His heart was accepting, forgiving, cleansing, and renewing. This is a model for all men and women of God to emulate—present yourself with sincere and genuine gentleness. We are not to rule our families with a heavy hand of punishment, a ruthless arm of the law or a piercing eye of judgment. No, Father God, whom we call Abba, wants us as fathers, mothers, and caregivers to present ourselves with kindness, goodness, and gentleness.4 Does this mean as leaders of our families—the souls in our care—we are to have no boundaries of behavior, guidelines for goodness, or edifying examples of enforcement? Absolutely not! Let’s look at Jesus’ first move once He entered the Temple area following His triumphal entry on a donkey into the Holy City:
Jesus entered the Temple area and began to drive out the merchants and their customers. He knocked over tables of the money changers and the stalls of those selling doves. He said, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a place of prayer,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves!”5
Let’s hear the words of the apostle Paul to his protégé, Timothy, a disciple under his care, regarding the false teachings of people whose lives do not honor God and whose hearts do not seek His desires:
Teach these truths, Timothy, and encourage everyone to obey them. Some false teachers may deny these things, but these are the sound, wholesome teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ, and they are the foundation for a godly life. Anyone who teaches anything different is both conceited and ignorant. Such a person has an unhealthy desire to quibble over the meaning of words. This stirs up arguments ending in jealousy, fighting, slander, and evil suspicions. These people always cause trouble. Their minds are corrupt, and they don’t tell the truth. To them religion is just a way to get rich.
Yet true religion with contentment is great wealth. After all, we didn’t bring anything with us when we came into the world, and we certainly cannot carry anything with us when we die. So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content. But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is at the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.
But you, Timothy, belong to God; so run from all these things, and follow what is right and good. Pursue a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. Fight the good fight for what we believe. Hold tightly to the eternal life that God has given you, which you have confessed so well before many witnesses.6
We are to be gentle, kind, full of goodness and mercy, and we are to establish boundaries of behavior, guidelines for goodness, and edifying examples of enforcement. How do we blend this together to form a leadership style that models Jesus? It starts with the condition of your heart. Your behavior reflects the condition of your heart. If your heart is calloused—hardened by the resentment you hold from the tough trials of your life—it will be difficult for you to feel the feeling that someone expresses to you—you will not “understand” their perspective or truly “know” what they are going through. Have you heard this expressed, “You just don’t get me,” or “You have no idea where I am coming from.” I have. Identifying with the heart of the person communicating is the place where relationship bonds are formed. Each experience of understanding the other person’s heart lays down another “connection” point that over time establishes a matrix of bonds—strong enough to withstand the trying moments of a relationship.
If your heart is wounded—riddled with holes from the arrows of discord, strife, and abuse—it, likewise, cannot effectively empathize and understand the feelings of others. With a wounded heart, it’s difficult to “hold” the feelings of another person—like a bowl full of holes, their feelings pass through unnoticed by a heart focused on the “arrows” of the past—a selfish introspection of one’s own pain rather than empathy for another person’s need.
Calloused? Wounded? How does a heart soften and heal? By receiving in your heart the gentle Lamb of God—Christ Jesus—by giving to Him the arrows that hold you hostage as a victim of your past and by releasing to Him the resentment—the unforgiveness you have toward others—those people you blame for your hardship. Receiving Christ in your heart replaces your “yoke” with His.
Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke fits perfectly, and the burden I give you is light.7
Right now, you may be burdened with bitterness and resentment—your yoke—that literally binds up your heart from working the way God created you. With a yoke like this, your heart pumps like an engine without oil and binds up because it gets hot—there’s not enough lubrication—love and forgiveness—and your attitude, communication, and behavior with others becomes harsh, shallow, and selfish—concerned for your own agenda and well-being. Receive Christ for the right reason—not to remove your pain so that you can feel good but rather, to connect with God, to remove the gap that separates you from Him. You can remove this gap with God or renew your relationship with Him and receive His love and healing by asking Jesus to move into your heart right now:
Jesus, Son of God, I pray to you with a humble heart and lowly spirit. My heart is broken—it is hard and insensitive, it is full of holes from my choosing to remain a victim of the hurts of my past. I remain in bondage to my sin because I do not forgive. Please create in my heart the gentleness of spirit and wholeness of heart to forgive those who have harmed me. As I forgive each person for each and every act of harm, take from me their arrows of hurt and break their debilitating power. Restore, renew and refresh my ability to empathize with and feel and understand the heart of one speaking to me. Open my eyes to understand the teachings of Your Word. I repent of my sins and ask you to forgive me just as I forgive those who harmed me. I want a relationship with You, My Savior, with God the Father, and with the Holy Spirit within me. Please remove any gap between us by forgiving me and replace it with Your bond of love. In Jesus Name, Amen.
Jesus showed gentleness in his behavior towards others, yet He did not compromise God’s values. Being meek doesn’t mean you have no backbone. Be gentle yet firm. As my journey on the Spirit Airline continued, I had one more destination to complete the triad of behavior Jesus showed his followers—the foundation of goodness on which kindness and gentleness grows.
Next—The Spirit Airline: Show Me…“Let us stop just saying we love each other.”
Praise to Our Father for the words He has given me ~ Jeff Cambridge
Copyright © 2004, 2005, 2016 Stellar Rhema Ministry, Jeff Cambridge
References
All Scripture quotations unless otherwise noted are from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of International Bible Society. “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark office by International Bible Society.
1. Matthew 21:5 NIV
2. Mark 14:36, Romans 8:15, Galatians 4:6
3. Isaiah 59:20, Luke 21:27-28, Romans 3:22-24, Colossians 1:12-14
4. Galatians 5:22
5. Matthew 21:12-13
6. 1 Timothy 6:1-12
7. Matthew 11:28
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