Philippians 4:5
"Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near."
When you think of gentleness, what comes to mind? You may think of a mother's touch with a baby. You may think of being delicate with something or someone. You may think about an older child being careful around a younger child or baby.
In our verse for today, we see Paul tell us to have gentleness and to let it be evident to all. Gentleness here means to be reasonable, fair-minded, and charitable. If you look up gentleness in the dictionary, it will be described as the quality of being kind, tender, or mild-mannered. Would you describe yourself as a gentle person? If you were to ask other people, would they describe you as having gentleness? Do you let it be evident to all?
Why should we let our gentleness be evident to all? Because it shows who Jesus is. When we choose to show gentleness, we show Christ. We show his love, care, and compassion for others. Too often, though, we choose to be harsh or look for a fight. Maybe not physically, but with our words. We are all filled up with our own opinions about everything and want to prove everyone else wrong. Social media has become a breeding ground for harshness. I am not talking just about the world here; I am also talking about believers. So often, we find ourselves posting about every opinion we have, and we want to argue with everyone else on the matter. Whether it is sports, politics, opinions on parenthood, or what we spend our time doing, the list can go on and on. When we choose to fight and be harsh about everything, what colors are we revealing about ourselves?
Paul tells us to let our gentleness be evident to all. To other believers. To the world. To everyone. May we choose to show gentleness in everything we do. May we choose to reflect Christ in our words, actions, and social media posts. May we look to honor and glorify Him in everything rather than getting caught up in our own opinions about things. May we look to reflect the meekness and gentleness of Christ in all that we do.
We must always remember that the Lord is near as well. He is always there, but also to remember that the return of Jesus is always near. We do not know the day nor the hour, but what we do know is that it is near. Are you rejoicing in Him, knowing this? Are you thinking of this and choosing to be gentle with others, knowing Jesus is near? What a perspective change we can have when we get excited that He is near!
"Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near."
When you think of gentleness, what comes to mind? You may think of a mother's touch with a baby. You may think of being delicate with something or someone. You may think about an older child being careful around a younger child or baby.
In our verse for today, we see Paul tell us to have gentleness and to let it be evident to all. Gentleness here means to be reasonable, fair-minded, and charitable. If you look up gentleness in the dictionary, it will be described as the quality of being kind, tender, or mild-mannered. Would you describe yourself as a gentle person? If you were to ask other people, would they describe you as having gentleness? Do you let it be evident to all?
Why should we let our gentleness be evident to all? Because it shows who Jesus is. When we choose to show gentleness, we show Christ. We show his love, care, and compassion for others. Too often, though, we choose to be harsh or look for a fight. Maybe not physically, but with our words. We are all filled up with our own opinions about everything and want to prove everyone else wrong. Social media has become a breeding ground for harshness. I am not talking just about the world here; I am also talking about believers. So often, we find ourselves posting about every opinion we have, and we want to argue with everyone else on the matter. Whether it is sports, politics, opinions on parenthood, or what we spend our time doing, the list can go on and on. When we choose to fight and be harsh about everything, what colors are we revealing about ourselves?
Paul tells us to let our gentleness be evident to all. To other believers. To the world. To everyone. May we choose to show gentleness in everything we do. May we choose to reflect Christ in our words, actions, and social media posts. May we look to honor and glorify Him in everything rather than getting caught up in our own opinions about things. May we look to reflect the meekness and gentleness of Christ in all that we do.
We must always remember that the Lord is near as well. He is always there, but also to remember that the return of Jesus is always near. We do not know the day nor the hour, but what we do know is that it is near. Are you rejoicing in Him, knowing this? Are you thinking of this and choosing to be gentle with others, knowing Jesus is near? What a perspective change we can have when we get excited that He is near!
Posted in Devotional