7. Pursue Gentleness
Of all of the qualities of God’s heart, gentleness is perhaps the quality the world understands and desires the least. The word translated “gentle” in The New International Version is often translated “meek” in the other versions. Although meekness is not something that most men in this world would pursue because it has come to be equated with weakness and passivity, God calls us to pursue gentleness, or meekness.
Meekness has nothing to do with weakness; God has not called us to a passive lifestyle. We must pursue God aggressively, actively responding to Him with a whole heart. Meekness is living according to the power of God, allowing His power to flow through us in all of our circumstances and every one of our relationships. If we are to be men and women of God, we are called by Him to pursue gentleness—meekness—with all of our hearts. As we draw our life from Him, God makes us like Himself and fills us with the power of His life.
JESUS IS MEEK
As we have seen numerous times already, Christ is our example for the way of life God calls us to live in this world. He is also the power by which we live that life. Christ demonstrated before His disciples a life of holiness and obedience. Now He lives within us through the Holy Spirit to enable us to live a godly life as well. As we look at the spirit of gentleness, we see how Christ is the embodiment of this attitude.
One day, Jesus began to reproach the cities that had seen clearly the display of His power and yet had not responded to Him:
Then he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent. “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.” (Matthew 11:20-21)
In a unique way these cities had witnessed the power of God and the miracles of Christ. The Scriptures tell us that most of His miracles were worked here. Yet there was no response to the revelation of His deity. Christ gives a stern warning to these cities:
But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. (Matthew 11:22)
There seems to be a reasonable expectation on God’s part that when He reveals His power, people ought to respond. The people of Capernaum, however, expressed no faith as a result of what they witnessed. See what Jesus tells them:
And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I tell you that it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you. (Matthew 11:23-24)
After Jesus reproached these cities, He began to pray. In His prayer we see why there was no response in the hearts of these people:
At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.” (Matthew 11:25-26)
God hides truth from those who are “wise and understanding” and reveals Himself to “little children.” It pleases Him to work this way among men.
The “wise and intelligent” are those sophisticated people who become the measure for all truth and the standard for all of reality. Since they are all wise, they have no need of anyone to reveal truth to them. With their excellent minds they can discern those things that they ought to learn; they have no need of revelation. They have become self-sufficient because of their own vast resources. There is no awareness of need, and for that reason, no response to God when He calls.
The “children” are the humble people. These are the ones who do not possess the vast resources within themselves that enable them to be self-sufficient. They recognize their need for God. We see here a purity, a simplicity of heart, that gives them the freedom to come to the Lord. Now Christ reveals a further reason why some people come to Him and others do not:
All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. (Matthew 11:27)
Jesus described the authority that His Father had given to Him, as well as the intimate relationship they shared. We discussed earlier that knowing God is the key to life. Jesus tells us that no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him. The only way to know God is through the revelation of Christ, and the initiative for that revelation is within God’s own heart. Christ continues to describe those to whom He reveals Himself:
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:28-30)
Those who are exhausted and burdened down are invited to come. All others will choose to stay away. God leaves them in their own self-sufficiency. Those of you who have no resources left anymore, come. Those of you who are so conscious of your sin and its unbearable load, come. Those whose hope and strength is gone, come! There must be a sense of need before one will respond to Jesus’ invitation. God creates that sense of need through the Holy Spirit as He enables us to see ourselves through His eyes.
When Christ offers His own yoke for us, He becomes both our strength and our teacher. The yoke is a picture of shared ministry, of bearing a load together, but all of our own strength is already gone. In Christ’s yoke, the power is also His, and we are lifted. We come to Him because we are not wise and intelligent in ourselves; we are like babies, so greatly in need. Christ becomes the source of all that we need to know; through Him we come to know our Father in heaven. In this yoke of relationship with the living God we find rest. His yoke is easy. His load is light because He is there.
In these verses, Christ not only describes those to whom He gives the life of God, He also describes Himself: “I am gentle and lowly in heart,” He says. The attitude with which we must come to God is expressed by Christ as He calls us. We can come to Him only in meekness and humility, only when we are empty, desperate, and overwhelmed with all that we are not. But He calls us gently. With humility He beckons. As we are drawn by the warmth of His heart, He will make our hearts like His own.
THE GENTLENESS OF A NEW CREATION
I have told you something of my family background and how God’s redemptive process touched my life. I have an older sister, Kathy, who shared many of the same experiences that God used to mold me, but His sovereign timing for her salvation and her transformation into a godly person was to be later in life. Throughout Sunday school, Christian school, and church, her heart remained hardened toward the Lord, even past her high school years.
Kathy married soon after she graduated from high school. Ken, the young man she married, had an extensive church background, but he had not yet come to faith in Christ. This was just about the time I came to know the Lord, and in my youthful zeal, I began to share my newfound faith with them. I know that I was very insensitive to Kathy and Ken, and that I really pressured them to respond. Yet God was at work in their hearts in spite of my immaturity and carelessness!
God began a process in Kathy’s life that included much sickness and many painful, devastating losses. More than once Kathy was near death, and she and Ken lost a son through a terrible accident. Outwardly, Kathy seemed only to become more angry and bitter over the years and to react to God rather than responding to His call. However, the work of the Holy Spirit was very real in both her heart and Ken’s, and God began to draw them to Himself by His grace.
A few years ago, my wife, Karen, and I attended a missions conference at our church. That conference was a real turning point in our lives, as well as in Ken’s and Kathy’s lives. The missions speaker was a good friend, Dr. Ron Cline, who was president of HCJB World Radio. At the closing service, Ron challenged us to make a commitment to pray daily for the salvation of another person. He asked us to stand if we would make that commitment to the Lord. Karen and I both stood and found, soon afterward, that God had laid the same people on our hearts: Ken and Kathy!
We began to pray in April. Each day we would ask God to stimulate in Ken and Kathy’s hearts a desire to know Him and would draw them to Him. The next February God took my mother, a wonderful godly woman, home to be with Him as a result of a heart attack. At the hospital and during the funeral arrangements, God drew Karen and Kathy together in a special way. At the funeral we had the opportunity to share again how God had broken into our family by His sovereign grace and mercy, and how He had begun a beautiful process of redemption.
A few months later, Kathy said to her husband, “I think I would like to go back to church.” Ken said that was fine with him and asked her where she would like to go. Kathy responded, “Why don’t we go where Bill and Karen go?” Easter Sunday, one year since we had begun to pray, Ken and Kathy started attending church. Week after week they would come and hear the message of God’s love and the gospel of His grace. I could tell they were enjoying the music, the messages, and the fellowship. They did not miss a Sunday for over a year.
That summer, Kathy needed surgery again. It was very serious, and once again she had complications afterward. She was in the X-ray department when she began going into convulsions. When I arrived at the hospital, they had taken her to the emergency room. The doctors did not know whether she had a blood clot in her brain or whether her symptoms were caused by a stroke. They discovered later that she had been stricken by both a blood clot and a stroke. I stood by her bed praying, and Ken stood beside me. He was weeping quietly, but I sensed that something very significant was taking place in his heart. Later we learned that as he was crying out to God for the life of his wife, he was also trusting Christ for his salvation and committing his life to the Lord.
Within a few days, God’s grace was seen in Kathy’s life once again. He began to heal her and restore her strength. When she saw that Ken was being changed daily and was becoming a new person in Christ, God’s grace also brought her to salvation.
I do believe that God used our prayers in the process, but I also know that our Father had chosen Ken and Kathy in Christ before the worlds began! I would encourage you to pray for your family, friends, and neighbors. Ask God to draw them, to stimulate within them a hunger to know Him.
Often, in the face of overwhelming details and difficulties, when we have done all that we know how to do, we say, “Well, at least we can pray.” No, prayer is not the least we can do. Prayer is the most we can do! Prayer is a relationship in which we not only commune with our Father, but we also participate in a powerful way with the God of the universe as He works out His will.
I have so enjoyed watching God’s wonderful work of salvation in my family. It was fun to share with Ken and Kathy how we had prayed that God would bring them to Himself. They had always thought it was their idea to come to church! But God was calling them, and He has been changing them, just as He has been changing me. This is a beautiful thing about the Christian life: We do not change; we are changed! We could never make ourselves into the persons God has called us to become in His Son. That is His work—the fruit of His life within us.
How exciting it has been to see God remove the hardness and bitterness from Ken and Kathy and bring forth the soft, gentle responses of His own heart. Gentleness is one of the most visible attributes of God, embodied in His Son and expressed by His children. When God transforms us into the image of Christ, we become gentle like He is.
THE FRUIT OF POWER
Jesus Christ is the fullest expression of meekness—gentleness and humility—that this world has ever seen. The word meekness immediately evokes a picture of a weak person, one who cannot quite make the difference in his life or in his relationships that he ought. Such a man is walked upon by others. Such a woman is victimized by those around her. But Christ was not like that at all. He lived the most powerful life this world has ever seen. He was just as meek the day He cast the money changers out of the temple as He was when He allowed the soldiers to lead Him away to trial and to the cross.
Just after Christ prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane and expressed to His Father the pain in His heart and the single-mindedness of His obedience, Judas came to betray Him:
So Judas, having procured a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, went there with lanterns and torches and weapons. Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, “Whom do you seek?” (John 18:3-4)
We do not know how many disciples were still with Jesus at this point, but He is pictured almost alone facing this imposing throng. Into the garden come hundreds of armed soldiers, the religious leaders, and the frenzied mob, armed with lanterns and torches and weapons. Who is in control here? The answer is clear when Christ walks out to meet them. He asks, “Whom do you seek?”
They answered him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I am he.” Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. When Jesus said to them, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground. (John 18:5-6)
The mob tells Him that they are looking for Jesus the Nazarene. Christ is not hiding. He had already told His disciples that no one would take His life away from Him; He would lay it down. “I am He,” Jesus answers. At the speaking of these simple words, this crowd of armed and authoritative religious and political leaders fell at His feet! What would cause this? In some modern translations of the Scriptures, the “He” is in italics, which means that it is not in the original language and has been added to help the rendition of the Scriptures read more smoothly. What Jesus literally said to those who were seeking to destroy Him was, “I am.” These same words, spoken by God at the burning bush as Moses asked Him His name, are spoken once again in history. Jesus is revealing the power of His name to this crowd, and the power of who He is causes them to fall to the ground.
Jesus patiently waits for them to pick themselves up from the ground. He is prepared for the trial and the execution to come. He has come to lay down His life. No one is going to take it from Him. Peter tries to rescue Him by pulling out a sword, although he succeeds only in cutting off the ear of the high priest’s servant, at which point Christ rebukes Peter:
“Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels?” (Matthew 26:52-53)
Jesus was meek at this point in His life. He allowed the soldiers and the Pharisees to bring Him to trial and then to Calvary. Why did He do this? Was it because He had no alternative? Of course not. Christ could be meek because He had all of the power in the universe at His command.
It is power that produces meekness. Meekness—gentleness—is not the result of weakness. It is the fruit of power. We, too, can be gentle in our responses, even toward our enemies, because we have all of the power in the universe resident within us. The power of God flowing through us results in gentleness, a quietness of spirit. Gentleness is the outward fruit; the power of God is its source.
GENTLENESS IN SERVING
As Christ taught His disciples, He often dealt with the same kind of competitive spirit that we face so often in our children and sometimes even in ourselves. In the portion of Scripture that we will study here, the disciples are competing with one another to see who is the greatest:
A dispute also arose among them, as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest. (Luke 22:24)
These are the very men that God will use to change the world, yet they are playing the same games that children play on a school playground! They are playing “power games” with one another to see who should receive the best place, the highest position. How will Christ deal with this competitive spirit?
And he said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those in authority over them are called benefactors.” (Luke 22:25)
The disciples could quickly relate to what Jesus is describing here. The world has never really been much different from the way it is today. Those who have high position “exercise lordship over” those who are beneath them. Christ said that those who have authority are called “benefactors.” These are people who control the resources and carefully distribute to those underneath them what they feel is sufficient. How our ego is fed on position and authority! How we love to play “power games” with people! But, says Jesus,
“But not so with you. Rather, let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves.” (Luke 22:26)
What a contrast between the disciples and the rulers of the Gentiles! Christ had called these men so that they might have authority in His Kingdom. But here He is describing for them, and for us, what that authority looks like as it is lived out. Jesus is exhorting His followers to take the last and the lowest place:
“For who is the greater, one who reclines at table or one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at table? But I am among you as the one who serves.” (Luke 22:27)
Jesus asks His disciples to picture a great banquet: There are always two groups at a feast: those serving and those being served. “Who is greater?” Christ asked. The answer is obvious. Of course, the ones being served are the more important, and the ones doing the serving are less important. Then we hear those words that still echo through all of time: “But I am among you as the one who serves!” The Lord of the universe, the One with the highest position and authority, with every right to be served, came with the heart of a servant.
The images this world thrusts on us concerning what it means to be strong and have authority are illusions from the pit of hell. This world is filled with those who are strong within themselves, who have no needs or feelings, who are self-sufficient, self-controlled, and self-directed. God is raising up new people who are becoming gentle in their responses as a result of being filled with the resources of His life and power.
Christ defined true strength and genuine leadership for us. Power is expressed in gentleness, the highest position is seen in a servant’s role. We find our lives in laying them down for God and for those around us.
HUMILITY IN RELATIONSHIPS
The same attitude that Christ models for us, the attitude of His own heart, we must now express in all of our relationships. When the apostle Paul wrote to the Philippian Christians, he described the attitude for which we hunger:
So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, (Philippians 2:1)
As Paul continues, he tells his readers that those most beautiful expressions of love that we desperately need from one another grow out of this:
complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. (Philippians 2:2)
It is clear from these verses that if we would pursue what Paul describes in verse one, we must first share with one another a common mind-set and a common commitment. Our lives must be tied intimately into one another’s by the Holy Spirit, and we must all be moving in the same direction. As Paul continues, He tells us that we need an even more basic attitude:
Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. (Philippians 2:3-4)
God tells us that at the very heart of this is how we see ourselves and how we see one another. God calls us to see one another as more important than ourselves. But that is completely impossible within this world. No one is able to live like that. That love is unique to God. Only He has the capacity to give Himself to people in that way. Only God, and those in whom He lives, can express such love and humility. When His love is shed abroad in our hearts, when we are filled with His spirit and live according to His power, we, too, can live with one another in this way. This is the same attitude that Paul described to the Christians at Rome:
Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. (Romans 12:10)
We can actually prefer one another over ourselves. What is completely impossible in this world becomes our normal response in the Body of Christ! As Paul teaches us in Philippians, we are called to look out for the interests of others rather than always being caught up in our own. As Paul continues in his Philippian letter, he tells us that the attitude we must have toward one another is the attitude that characterized all of Jesus’ life:
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. (Philippians 2:5-7)
Christ could have grasped what was rightfully His in eternity, all of the glory and position there, the worship of the angels, life eternally with His Father. However, He chose to lay all of that down, to empty Himself, and to become a man. What a contrast to the way every man has lived since Adam! We are empty apart from God and spend all of our lives seeking to be filled. We grasp at things, relationships, and experiences to try to fill that emptiness inside. Christ—the fullness of deity in bodily form—came filled and chose to be emptied. God calls us to live out this attitude of humility, to embrace a lifestyle of giving to one another rather than taking. This attitude enables us to be gentle and humble in all of our relationships as men and women of God.
THE GENTLENESS OF GOD’S WISDOM
James, the brother of the Lord Jesus, wrote about wisdom that is characterized by humility:
Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. (James 3:13)
Wisdom in this world might very well be measured by degrees, position, or even insight. In God’s Kingdom, however, wisdom is measured by humility. James contrasts the humility of God’s wisdom with the wisdom of this world and the devil, and wisdom that is characterized by evil, envy, selfish ambition, and disorder.
But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. (James 3:14-16)
Spiritual wisdom, the source of which is God, is filled with purity and submission, and it is marked by mercy and consideration. Those whose lives are governed by this wisdom come in peace, pursue peace, and stimulate righteousness.
We often think of wisdom as insight into a situation. A wise person is the one who knows the right thing to do in a given circumstance. The Scriptures also teach that wisdom is a spirit with which we respond to one another.
But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. (James 3:17-18)
Some time ago our family attended a conference at our church in which the emphasis was youth and missions. The speaker was filled with the power of the Holy Spirit during the Sunday morning message, and God moved among His people in a powerful way. That evening the speaker was going to address the young people in a separate service. After the evening service, there would be an exhibit that presented a number of options for the youth to participate in short-term mission projects. Since our nineteen-year-old son, Peter, had been to the mission field, he was asked to be at the exhibit to answer any questions the teens might have.
That Sunday afternoon, Karen and I attended a wedding of some friends while Peter and his seventeen-year-old brother, Joel, ate together at home. We arrived home from the wedding earlier than our sons returned from the evening service, and we began to prepare for an early-morning trip to the airport. Karen’s sister in Las Vegas had experienced some family difficulty, and Karen was going to spend a few days with her. We had to leave for the airport shortly after four in the morning.
When we returned home, I noticed that Peter and Joel had eaten dinner in the family room and had not even returned the dirty dishes to the kitchen, which was also quite a mess. I was tired and not looking forward to an early alarm. As I prepared for bed, I became more and more frustrated. Peter and Joel had all afternoon to relax, I fumed. They could at least have cleaned up after themselves instead of expecting us to do that. As frustration turned to anger, I said to Karen, “I’m going downstairs and clean up the kitchen. We can’t leave that mess till the morning.”
We were in the middle of the cleaning when Peter and Joel returned home. They had hardly walked in when I began to “unload” on them. “You know, you had all afternoon at home. You could have cleaned up after yourselves. You don’t have to get up early to go the airport. It was selfish of you to leave this for us to do.”
Peter and Joel stared at me in wide-eyed disbelief. Peter had just experienced one of the most exciting nights of his life, and Joel had made some new and deep commitments to the Lord. They were anxious to tell us all about it. I was confronting them about their self-centeredness, but the selfishness was all mine. There was no humility, no gentleness in my responses. There was no willingness to serve. It took a lot longer that evening to clean up the mess I had created in our relationships than it took to clean up the mess Peter and Joel had left in the kitchen!
I am amazed at what happens in my heart in situations like this. These circumstances become mirrors that show me who I am apart from God. In my flesh there is no gentleness, no humility, no freedom to serve. My only hope is the transforming life of Christ within me. I am continually praying that God will move me to pursue gentleness.
MEEKNESS THAT REIGNS
The world would look at the kind of person God has described for us here and write him or her off as weak and ineffective. This man or woman would probably not be chosen the one most likely to succeed in this world. However, as Christ prepared His disciples for their ministry in this world, He said,
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. (Matthew 5:5)
Those who live the way God calls us to live here will receive everything there is. God seems to enjoy making a mockery of the world in which we live. The world tells us to grasp for everything we can get or we will end up with nothing. In reality, those who spend their lives grasping will in the end have nothing. Those who have served with gentleness will receive all there is!
God tells us that the wisdom of this world is foolishness:
Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their craftiness,” and again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.” (1 Corinthians 3:18-20)
As men and women of God we have the freedom to walk humbly before Him and gently before men, expressing the heart of a servant in all of our relationships. This lifestyle is possible only because the power of God is resident within us and because God has already given us everything there is. We reign with Him in a Kingdom that will never pass away:
So let no one boast in men. For all things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, and you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s. (1 Corinthians 3:21-23)
POWER TO SERVE OUR ENEMIES
We find an incident in the book of 2 Kings that visually contrasts the kingdom of this world, whose power captivates, devalues, and destroys, with the Kingdom of God, whose power serves in humility and gentleness:
Once when the king of Syria was warring against Israel, he took counsel with his servants, saying, “At such and such a place shall be my camp.” (2 Kings 6:8)
The king of Aram laid out his battle strategy with his leading officers. Together they had decided where they would set up camp. However, a man of God, the prophet Elisha, was among God’s people. God revealed the plans of the enemy to Elisha, who then warned the king of Israel to avoid the area where the enemy had camped:
But the man of God sent word to the king of Israel, “Beware that you do not pass this place, for the Syrians are going down there.” And the king of Israel sent to the place about which the man of God told him. Thus he used to warn him, so that he saved himself there more than once or twice. (2 Kings 6:9-10)
The king of Israel was protected by Elisha’s prophetic ministry as he heeded the warnings of the Lord. The king of Aram was enraged when his enemies continued to elude his grasp. His only logical conclusion was that a traitor among his own officers was passing on his battle strategy to the enemy:
And the mind of the king of Syria was greatly troubled because of this thing, and he called his servants and said to them, “Will you not show me who of us is for the king of Israel?” And one of his servants said, “None, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.” (2 Kings 6:11-12)
If the king was angered by the possibility of a spy in his ranks, this latest word must have shaken him completely. Elisha not only knew the king’s strategy for battle, he knew what went on in the king’s bedroom! The king of Aram now laid plans to capture Elisha.
And he said, “Go and see where he is, that I may send and seize him.” It was told him, “Behold, he is in Dothan.” So he sent there horses and chariots and a great army, and they came by night and surrounded the city. (2 Kings 6:13-14)
With the king’s army surrounding the city, there was no human way for Elisha to escape:
When the servant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. And the servant said, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” (2 Kings 6:15)
When Elisha’s servant, Gehazi, awakened early in morning and began his normal duties, he saw that the city was surrounded. There were chariots and horses all around him and the prophet he served. In fear, he returned and reported the news to Elisha.
He said, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” (2 Kings 6:16)
Elisha’s first concern was for his servant. “Don’t be afraid,” he told him. He assured Gehazi that they possessed resources beyond those gathered by the enemy. I’m sure Gehazi went outside and looked again; but still all he could see were the armies of the enemy. But God brought about a great victory:
Then Elisha prayed and said, “O LORD, please open his eyes that he may see.” So the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. (2 Kings 6:17)
With his eyes opened to see what is eternal, Elisha’s servant saw the reality that the prophet had already perceived. The hills were filled with the armies of God! Chariots and horses of fire surrounded Gehazi and Elisha!
And when the Syrians came down against him, Elisha prayed to the LORD and said, “Please strike this people with blindness.” So he struck them with blindness in accordance with the prayer of Elisha. And Elisha said to them, “This is not the way, and this is not the city. Follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom you seek.” And he led them to Samaria. (2 Kings 6:18-19)
Elisha had prayed concerning his servant, “Open his eyes.” Now, concerning his enemies, he prayed, “Blind their eyes.” As the armies of the Arameans came toward Elisha, they were struck blind. Elisha approached them and said, “This is not the place you are looking for. Follow me. I will take you to the man you are looking for.” He then led them to Samaria, the capital city of the people of God.
As soon as they entered Samaria, Elisha said, “O LORD, open the eyes of these men, that they may see.” So the LORD opened their eyes and they saw, and behold, they were in the midst of Samaria. As soon as the king of Israel saw them, he said to Elisha, “My father, shall I strike them down? Shall I strike them down?” (2 Kings 6:20-21)
When the enemy was captured within the city of Samaria, Elisha prayed once again, “Open their eyes.” Surely the armies of Aram were overwhelmed when they saw their circumstances. They had come to destroy the prophet of God, but now they found themselves surrounded and captured by their enemies.
The response of the king of Israel is typically human. When it is possible for us to hurt our enemies or even destroy them, we leap at the opportunity. “Can I kill them?” the king of Israel asked Elisha. The prophet’s response teaches us about the heart of God.
He answered, “You shall not strike them down. Would you strike down those whom you have taken captive with your sword and with your bow? Set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink and go to their master.” (2 Kings 6:22)
“You do not kill the enemies you have taken captive! You feed your enemies!” The words of the prophet express the teachings of our Lord Jesus to His disciples many years later:
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” (Matthew 5:43-45)
Surely there were no more surprised people in the city of Samaria that day than the Aramean army. They had come to destroy but instead found themselves sitting at a feast in the household of their greatest enemy. After the feast they were allowed to return home. But this ministry of serving their enemies proved to be a wonderful battle strategy for the people of Israel. Their actions stopped the raiding bands of Arameans as no other strategy could:
So he prepared for them a great feast, and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. And the Syrians did not come again on raids into the land of Israel. (2 Kings 6:23)
The power of the kingdoms of this world captivate, devalue, and destroy. But there is another Kingdom. We find our lives in God’s eternal realm even though we are physically present here in time and space. In God’s Kingdom, there is a completely different kind of power: one that serves, builds up others, elevates them, and sets them free. It is a power expressed in gentleness, but it is the power that ultimately will triumph!
GENTLENESS: THE FINAL VICTORY
In July 1989, my coworker Craig Parro and I had the privilege of attending the Lausanne II International Conference on World Evangelism held in Manila, the Philippines. It was a great privilege to be among my brothers and sisters from around the world to hear what God was doing in the building of His church. As we listened, prayed, and planned for the future, there was a great sense of confidence in the Lord. To me, the most moving aspect of the conference was the joy of worshiping with some forty-three hundred believers from 173 countries.
The testimonies of many servants also greatly moved my heart. I will never forget the testimony of the man who taught Bible studies in Lebanon and had to dodge the bombs and sniper fire to get from one place to another in the course of his ministry. Then we heard from another brother, an evangelist who was imprisoned because of his faith and his ministry:
I was imprisoned in a labor camp. The authorities thought the best way to “reform” me, to torture me, was to appoint me to empty the cesspool of human waste. All the human waste collected from the entire camp stagnatedin a cesspool until it was ripe, then it was dug out and sent to the fields to be used as fertilizer.
The cesspool was very large—more than two meters in depth. It was so deep that I could not empty it on the surface of the ground, so I had to walk into the disease-ridden mass to empty it. And all the time, I had to inhale that horrible stench. My captors thought it was the best place for a Christian leader: working in the human waste pit with a shovel in my hands. But I enjoyed working in the cesspool, because I liked the solitude.
In the labor camp, all prisoners were under constant surveillance—none of us could be alone. Only when I worked in the cesspool on Saturdays could I be alone. Then I could pray to our Lord as loudly as I wanted. I could recite the Scriptures and psalms of the Bible that I still remembered. No one would come close enough to protest!
That’s why I loved to work in the human waste cesspools. I could pray loudly and recite Scriptures. I also sang hymns as loudly as I could.
In those years, one of my favorite hymns when I worked in the pit was “In the Garden.” And when I sang this hymn in the cesspool, I understood the meaning of garden, and I knew where God was. I met my Lord in the garden of the cesspool.1
Our brother then began to sing that beloved hymn:
I come to the garden alone,
While the dew is still on the roses;
And the voice I hear falling on my ear;
The Son of God discloses.
And He walks with me, and He talks with me,
And He tells me I am His own,
And the joy we share as we tarry there,
None other has ever known.2
As the words and melody flowed toward us, the entire audience was gripped with the simple yet powerful expression of God’s grace and the glory of His work in building His church. We stood in awe of Him together, and our hearts worshiped.
Ken Medema, the gifted singer and song writer who ministers with such vision, was the worship leader for the conference. After hearing these testimonies, he made his way to the piano and began to sing a song he had just composed during the brief time we were listening to these testimonies:
Here come the bombs.
Here come the shells.
Here comes the cesspool straight out of hell.
But don’t you be moved
And don’t you leave that garden
Because God will win this war with love.
There is a power in this world that destroys, but in God’s Kingdom His power reigns. The power of God is demonstrated in humility and gentleness and service. His is the power that wins, and the realms of eternity will echo with celebration in its victory. May God give us the grace to pursue gentleness and to serve His Kingdom in the laying down of our lives.
GROUP STUDY GUIDE AND PERSONAL APPLICATION
1. Before you read this chapter, would you have put the pursuit of gentleness” high on the priority list for your life? Why or why not?
2. How do you respond to Jesus’ description of Himself as “humble and gentle”? Is that your view of the God you serve? Do we often think of God as humble? Why?
3. Why did Jesus respond one way to the “wise and learned” and another way to “children”? In which category do you see yourself?
4. Describe how God has given you rest and how He has made your “yoke easy and your burden light.”
5. God used some painful experiences to make my sister Kathy and her husband Ken into gentle people. What are some of the experiences He has used to build His heart into you?
6. Why do we have so much difficulty, even in God’s church, seeing the gentleness of serving as the power of His Kingdom?
7. Do you see the power of serving affecting not only your brothers and sisters in Christ but your enemies as well? Why do we struggle so in this area?
8. Do you really believe that God will “win this war with love”? Do you think we as a church tend to lose heart and even see ourselves on the “losing side” too often?
9. Why do we see ourselves as the victims and losers so often when God has promised us that we are the victors in Christ?
REFLECTIONS, COMMITMENTS, AND PRAYER
Perhaps, like me, you have struggled with the pursuit of a gentle spirit. Confess before the Lord those things that keep you from humility and gentleness. Ask God to build into you the attitudes and responses of His Son. Thank Him for promising that He will bring to completion what He began in you and that you will become like Jesus at the end of His process in your life. Pray that God will enable you to rest in Him along the way and that He will remind you again and again that His yoke is easy and His burden light. Worship God for the promise of His triumph over His enemies and that the power of His Kingdom is love.
1 Quotation by M.Y. Chan from Proclaim Christ Until He Comes, Lausanne Committee for World Evangelism, 1990, p. 135.
2 Austin Miles, 1868-1946, In the Garden.
For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.
2 Corinthians 10:3-4