Joyful Gentleness
A few weeks ago, I wrote about gentleness, using the sentence in Philippians 4 that follows our verse for yesterday, which was:
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!
That next sentence is:
Let your gentle spirit be known to all people.
Last night, as I looked at that blog post from a few weeks ago, I thought about how pleasant it would be if other people were always gentle with me. Doesn’t that sound nice?
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught us:
In everything, therefore,Â
treat people the same way you want them to treat you,
for this is the Law and the Prophets.
Matthew 7:12
Gentleness. What a wonderful way to treat others the way we want them to treat us.
Philippians 4 tells us to let our gentle spirit be known to all people: our husbands, our children, our friends, store clerks, people calling on the phone. All people.
I believe that this is a teaching that will bless not only those other people, but ourselves as well. Days spent in gentleness and rejoicing—just the sound and thought of that fills me with peace. I pray that your day is filled with gentleness and rejoicing.
Let your gentle spirit be known to all people.
Philippians 4:5a
Today and yesterday, I have written from the following passage in Philippians 4. It is a passage I read every day. The encouragement and the promises are very sweet. Here it is if you would like to read all six verses.
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all people. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and pleading with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, think about these things. As for the things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
Philippians 4:4-9