Gen-tle adj. Showing or motivated by sympathy and understanding and generosity. Showing concern for the rights and feelings of others. Showing or giving mercy. Having or showing a considerate and tender and helpful and kindly nature.

Monday

When you think about a gentle person, what kind of person pops into your mind? You may have a specific person and if so, write down why they are a gentle person to you. If not, then think of what that person might be like.
When I was looking up the meaning of gentle, it became obvious that it is synonymous with kindness. Giving the impression of interrelating in such a way that one characteristic cannot exist without the other.
What other characteristics can you see interrelating to gentleness - look at the fruits of the Spirit.
Do you consider a gentle act to be weak? Why or why not?
Have you ever considered or been considered ’spineless’ because of gentility? Why do you think this happens? Is it different for men than women? Why?
Use today to write some specific thoughts about gentleness. Perhaps you have questions. Maybe you just want to record your own experiences with someone being gentle with you or how you have displayed gentleness towards others. Don’t forget that kindness tends to drive a gentle deed into action.  

 Tuesday

Cultivate inner beauty, the gentle, gracious kind that God delights in. The holy women of old were beautiful before God that way, and were good, loyal wives to their husbands. Sarah, for instance, taking care of Abraham, would address him as “my dear husband.” You’ll be true daughters of Sarah if you do the same, unanxious and unintimidated. 1 Peter 3:4-6 (MSG)

As I read this verse it became apparent to me that gentleness should be an active attribute in my life. Can you see here in the beginning of the passage it says ‘cultivate’. When you cultivate something in your life it takes responsibility and desire to foster growth. I’m not sure what farming entails, but I think cultivation takes planning and effort - not something that falls into place with a few hopes and dreams. The same can be said of gentleness - it is definitely something I have desired to grow and foster. . . despite my personality. To hope that I can have a gentleness about me without any responsibility on my part is naïve and futile. Did you know that a goal of cultivation is to adapt wild plants to the surrounding environment? Interesting. When I think about being gentle, it is not always a natural response to the harsh conditions surrounding me. It takes a deliberate act of my will to respond in a gentle way. Why? Because gentleness is essentially selfless, and that is just not part of our human DNA. But it is part of our Father’s! So, what am I doing when I cultivate gentleness? I’m converting my human DNA into a heavenly DNA - and in turn, my efforts become more and more fruitful and less and less difficult. Where does this gentleness come from? Is it merely and act of the will in our deeds towards others for viewing purposes only? No. This verse is very clear - it is something that comes from within you as a fragrance that permeates from your inside, out. The next part of that first verse is the reason I long for a gentleness in my life - God delights in it. This gives a wonderful insight into what God values. There are so many other ‘religions’ that manipulate their followers into behavioural structures in order to feel valuable and acceptable to their ‘gods’. But our God, the One and Only God, doesn’t keep a tally of all your deeds, or force you into a guilt ridden pattern of legalism, but instead He longs for your changes to be self motivated and long lasting. The inner you will only reap blessings from the call on your heart to be gentle. Blessings that God longs to pour out on you as you open yourself to becoming the wonder He created you to be. I realize the verse then speaks about the extension of this attribute into marriage, but may I challenge you to read it with the view of all your relationships needing a gentle woman in them. Think about your family, your friends, your neighbours, your colleagues, your church family and others your contact every day. Cultivate gentleness and see where God takes you - He is longing for you to foster this powerful ’fruit’ in your life and bless others in the process! 

Wednesday

In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which, when translated, is Dorcas), who was always doing good and helping the poor. About that time she became sick and died, and her body was washed and placed in an upstairs room. Lydda was near Joppa; so when the disciples heard that Peter was in Lydda, they sent two men to him and urged him, “Please come at once!” Peter went with them, and when he arrived he was taken upstairs to the room. All the widows stood around him, crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them. Peter sent them all out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed. Turning toward the dead woman, he said, “Tabitha, get up.” She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up. He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called the believers and the widows and presented her to them alive. This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord. Peter stayed in Joppa for some time with a tanner named Simon. Acts 9:36-43 (NIV)

If I knew nothing else about Tabitha than the first verse of this passage, it would be enough. She was a woman who had heard, believed and taken a step of action regarding her faith in Jesus Christ, embracing the calling of a disciple. Tabitha was a woman of comfortable means, considered rich among her counterparts, yet her generosity is mentioned twice: she was known among both Greek and Hebrew people for her good works and her work with the poor. Tabitha’s focus was on the kindness she could bestow on others and all the ways she could create opportunities to do this. Tabitha was not only able to give her hands to the works of charity but also her finances. She was willing to move beyond either easy road and cross over into the other - for instance, she may have had the money to facilitate good works done at the hands of others, or she may have decided that she was going to invest time and energy whilst saving her own estate as security.  But not our Tabitha. She took on the mandate of a true disciple and offered everything she had to the cause of Christ. I can just imagine her bringing gold, or expensive oil, jewels or rich cloth to the church for use in ministry. Then, she gets out there for some ‘hands on’ experience! Just like the fruit of the Spirit grows in you, the root of gentleness grew in Tabitha to produce a bounty of good works in the lives of others - fruit. Tabitha was loved among those who benefitted from her kind touch. I would think that her gentleness was the highlight of the ‘poor’ around her as she cared, bathed, fed, and held each one of them as if Jesus were there Himself. Her head was full of good ideas and her hands were busy carrying them out! What is your head full of? What are your hands busy doing? If gentleness is the root of your fruit then the fruit will be good and others will appreciate it. It’s always interesting to see the response of others to your labour (be it good or bad). It is an accurate measure - and Tabitha had that.  She was appreciated and highly esteemed by the widows and the other disciples (male and female). In fact, her life became a spring board of hope in the lives of those around her, as they called Peter to her in faith of a miracle occurring. Tabitha was taken in the midst of her fruitful ministry and had left a gaping hole in the lives of her brothers and sisters. All those that knew her, knew this - she was a woman who would be sadly missed not only for the practicalities of her deeds (which may have been enough to earn her an honourable burial), but more for the person that she was through the outworking of those deeds - a kind and gentle woman who showed the love of Christ with an impact that moved others to believe in miracles! Does your fruit move others to believe in miracles? What a path of blessing that would be!

Thursday

After looking at the gentleness that comes from cultivating inner beauty and the amazing Tabitha, we could safely say that there is so much more to gentleness than first meets the eye! Let’s not forget that Paul includes it in the nine amazing fruits of the Spirit as an outworking of God flowing through our lives. Of course, here is the answer to how we weave it to become part of us - through the Holy Spirit. So, on this point it’s essential to have a good look at just ‘who’ is in authority of you! There is going to be no fruit if the source has no room to grow in you, affecting you and the fruit you produce. Of course, there is always going to be a ‘source’ of your nourishment. The Holy Spirit is a gentleman and will not force His way into your life, however, the same cannot be said of satan. He is the master of going places he wasn’t invited and affecting areas he had no right to touch. If you want to slot him into our plant analogy, then let’s call him the ‘weed’. When you think about fruit, it comes from a root source as a result of growth and health. Your health has the opportunity to be filled with the nine wonderful fruits offered to you by God (Gal. 5:22-23) or you can be infested with the fruit of weeds that rob nourishment and dry you out till there is no possible way to grow in their company. Perhaps this has been the most valuable revelation to me about gentleness - I cannot facilitate it or fabricate it or replicate it - I just need to be open to receiving it and letting God’s Spirit touch others through it. What a relief! I have spent a lot of wasted time ‘trying’. Trying to be, do, achieve, change, grow, become and so on. But all I need to be is open and let the Holy Spirit work through me, a willing vessel. Not that I have mastered this, but in the small victories I’ve had, I’m convinced that this is the perfect way to let fruit be evident in my life. I wonder if Tabitha consciously worked at her gentleness or whether it was a wonderful byproduct of her relationship with the Holy Spirit? Perhaps it began as an awareness of who God wanted her to be, then progressed into something very much a part of her as she become more and more in the image of Jesus - the perfect example of all the fruit of the Spirit working together in the one body to bless each and every person who came into contact with Him. So where does the power come from for you to fulfill this fruit of gentleness in your life? Considering Galatians 5:23 says that gentleness (and indeed, all the fruits) do not break any law, we can fulfill gentleness through the power of grace. A gift that God pours out on us to fuel heavenly blessings here on earth. Yet another reason why it fails to work when we try to do it in our own strength. Grace is God given and apportioned to us according to the plans God has for us. Of course, if you’re diving head long into God’s plans, He will increase the grace in your life to accommodate your need to be fuelled! Is that what happened with Tabitha? She obviously had a lot of energy and passion to do the things she was known for. The grace of God was fuelling her to be Christ-like in her daily life and extend the fruit of gentleness to those that needed it most. What a lovely legacy to have. . .  

Friday

Have you ever considered gentleness being a proactive characteristic?
Obviously, we have seen much more to a gentle person than I first thought there could be. It’s not about sitting back and patting someone on the hand, but much more about who you can be in their situation to bring about generosity, tenderness and helpfulness. These are definitely characteristics that require forethought, strategy, energy and persistence.
How are you going to cultivate gentleness in your life? Remember cultivation takes time and requires persistence and longevity. 
I have asked myself some questions since meeting Tabitha:
What is my legacy going to be?
What flavour will I leave in the lives of others?
What ‘fruit source’ do I draw on to be who I am?
Perhaps these questions will prompt you to journal some truths, some hopes and some changes. I know it did for me.