Gentleness: Reaching People with Tender Love
When writing to one of his very first congregations, Paul testified, "We were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children." (I Thessalonians 2:7 - KJV)
When he gave specific instructions to his prize student, Pastor Timothy, Paul wrote, "The servant of Yahweh must not strive but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient." (II Timothy 2:24) ("Strive" here would mean "fight with words" - "gentle" means "affable, i.e. mild or kind," and is related to a word having to do with speaking.)
In addition, Paul viewed himself as an ambassador for Messiah. What is the role of an ambassador? To spread good will in the country of his assignment, to win cooperation by establishing good relationships through respectful dialogue, and creating an environment of friendship. ("Elohim . . . has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Messiah's ambassadors, as though Elohim were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Messiah's behalf: Be reconciled to Elohim. Elohim made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of Elohim." - II Corinthians 5:18-21)
The Elohim we worship and serve, the Elohim and Father of our Master Yah'shua the Messiah, is tender, loving and gentle.
1) An often overlooked scripture is the one which says, "the goodness of Elohim leads to repentance." (Romans 2:4)
2) Speaking of Yahweh's care for the people of Israel in the wilderness, we have this evidence of Yahweh's tender dealing with His children: "In a desert land he found him, in a barren and howling waste. He shielded him and cared for him; he guarded him as the apple of his eye, like an eagle that stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, that spreads its wings to catch them and carries them on its pinions." (Deuteronomy 32:10,11) This idea of being the apple of Yahweh's eye is found several times - Psalm 17:8; Proverbs 7:2; Lamentations 2:18; Zechariah 2:8. Actually, the reference to "apple" has nothing to do with fruit, but refers to the pupil, or the very middle of the eye. Adam Clarke writes, "As deeply concerned and as carefully attentive as man can be for the safety of his eyesight, so was God for the protection and welfare of this people." And from Spurgeon, this explanation, "No part of the body more precious, more tender, and more carefully guarded than the eye; and of the eye, no portion more peculiarly to be protected than the central apple, the pupil, or as the Hebrew calls it, 'the daughter of the eye.'" (Treasury of David)
3) Another similar reference to the tenderness of Yahweh is from the Psalms, "He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds - curing their pains and their sorrows." (Psalm 147:3)
4) Listen to what James, the brother of Yah'shua, says about the wisdom of the Father, "But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy." (James 3:17)
5) And there's this exclamation by the Apostle of Love, “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us that we should be called children of Elohim!” (I John 3:1)
6) No wonder we are invited to use the tender, familiar term "Abba" when referring to Yahweh our Father. (Romans 8:15) It's time we stopped viewing Yahweh as the enemy, as do the heathen who feel they must constantly appease an angry god.
B. It could also be pointed out that even though the Holy Spirit is the One who convicts us of sin, She is also pictured as a dove, and we are reminded of Yah'shua's words when He encouraged His followers to be "harmless as doves" (Matthew 10:16).
C. The Son especially embodies this tenderness.
1) We were reminded of the invitation given by Yah'shua, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30 NIV)
2) Isaiah showed the tenderness of the Messiah in his prophecies: "He will feed His flock like a shepherd, He will gather the lambs in His arm, He will carry them in His bosom, and will gently lead those that have their young." (Isaiah 40:11) "Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations. He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out." (Isaiah 42:1-3) In the New Testament, Matthew quoted from this passage just after explaining that when the Jewish leaders began to plot His death, Yah'shua withdrew Himself, many followed Him, and He "healed all their sick, warning them not to tell who he was." (Matthew 12:15-21) What Yah'shua did was just the opposite of shouting and crying out, and He tenderly cares especially for the weak, weary and wounded.
3) When Revelation 3:20 pictures Yah'shua at the door of the Messianic Community (Church), it says, "I stand at the door and knock." He is not out on the step pounding, yelling, demanding or threatening. He simply knocks and waits for our willing response.
4) The songwriter says it simply, "Softly and tenderly Yah'shua is calling."
A small boy and his older brother were standing before a large portrait of their father who had died when the younger boy was a mere babe.
“Tell me,” the younger brother said, “just what was Father like?”
The older boy attempted to tell his little brother something about their father. He described his strength; he said, "He was a good man, kind and handsome. He was friendly, and people liked to be with him." Then he added, "He was always gentle with Mother. He made people happy."
To me this sounds like a description of my father, my Heavenly Father, as revealed by His Son, Yah'shua the Messiah.
