Beloved in the Lord, we are called to display gentleness.

The interlude between published posts this summer has found me in moments of gain and moments of loss, a new house and a damaging storm, injuries and sickness, welcoming in some friends and saying goodbye to others. All these things and more have continued to refine in me the fruit of God’s Spirit that I started writing about months ago. And now, today, I meditate on the second to the last.

There is no mistake in God’s Word, nor in the order of the words written throughout it. Saving gentleness and self-control for the end (of the long list in Galatians 5:22-23) was fitting. For it is only after we are matured by the Potter’s hand and the trials He allows that we are more fully motivated to cultivate these traits and more fully aware of the true strength displayed through their presence.

Earlier this month, I had another chance to attend the famous Iowa State Fair. It has become our tradition later in the day of attendance to visit the horse barn, walk the stall aisles, and rub the noses of whichever horses are in the mood for it.

My favorites are the huge draft horses like the one pictured above (photo credit: Denise Sasse). They are so strong, so powerful. But when properly cared for, trained, and harnessed, they are so gentle. It is an awe-inspiring thing to stand near one of those horses and have it tower over me (a taller-than-avergage woman) and look down into my eyes with shiny, calm eyes of its own while I stroke the side of its massive head. So still, so peaceful. If spooked, it could rear back and kick forward and injure or even kill me. But generally speaking, it has no intent to harm. And that strength, when pulling a wagon or plow, can be used to complete amazing feats of helpful labor.

With our own physical stength, we have the ability to wound or kill — or to help and heal. With our own tongues, we have the ability to defame, degrade, destroy — or to instill, enlighten, uplift. We have been given strength and ability by God to do each day. And we have a choice in how we will do.

In out fallen nature, left to our own devices, we will always be more of the reckless, unpredictable, untrainable horse when the stuff of life rushes in to meet us. But when we follow Jesus and dwell in His presence more consistently, the harness and bridle of trials will calm us so that we stand more peacefully and treat others with more of His goodness while the next wave rises up. And His strength will shine though when we act more like Him and react less wildly.

My brothers and sisters in Christ, choose the more gentle response or manner of delivery when presented the option. Be who you are. Be His gentleness in this world.

To all who follow Jesus, we are called to be faithful and a reflection of His faithfulness in this fickle, shifting world.

Of our good God, Psalm 36:5 says, “Your love, Lord, reaches to the heavens, and Your faithfulness to the skies.” And of our Lord Jesus, 2 Timothy 2:12-13 concludes, “…if we endure, we will also reign with Him. If we disown Him, He will also disown us; if we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot disown Himself.”

We are told to build our lives on the Rock and not on a sandy foundation, so easily eroded. We are told to keep our eyes and hearts fixed on the Perfecter of our faith, the One who never gave up in His darkest hour — and the One who has never (or will never) leave us in ours. We are told to cling tightly to the hope He places in our hearts: that He will never leave us nor forsake us.

When we dwell consistently on these commands and truths, the stuff of life does not roar quite so loudly. And we start to more rightly reflect this faithfulness in our daily relationships with other people. It should inform how we treat both our loved ones and the strangers we encounter. God has been so good and so faithful to us in Christ Jesus. We, therefore, with His grace and help, can demonstrate that goodness and faithfulness toward one more person, one more time, again, and today.

It is faithfulness in a sense of loyalty and dependability and trying again. And it is faith-fullness in hoping the best for another, praying for their growth, and providing them with a good example.

Dear friends, be who you are. Dwell in Him. And be His faithfulness.

My fellow travelers on Christ’s pilgrimage, be patience.

After the initial three fruit of the Spirit Paul lists, patience is next. It is the first of the attributes defining love in another letter (1 Cor 13), and it is the first in a set of following listed traits which are equally well-defined by their anti-examples.

What I mean is this. A patient person is a patient person no matter what, but the true measure of their patience stands out in more apparent and brilliant contrast when we see them responding as they do right next to someone who is rudely impatient and throwing a related fit. Similarly, the very kind person is a refreshment to my soul directly after my heart has been shredded. And the deeply gentle person quietly shines beside the brash and rough person.

Patience is not a natural state of the human psyche. Some people may be more comfortable with a sanguine response to the stuff of life, but we have to learn how to be patient. Good parents, grandparents, teachers, and other role models can help with that in our formative years. Yet, in the end, it is like a musical or artistic skill. It must be continuously cultivated through practice and opportunities to perform whenever they may arise.

And in the end, looking at great examples of patience inspires us to be more patient too. In days gone by, we would often hear someone say, “So and so has the patience of a saint.” But we, as saints bound for Heaven, are all to have more and more of the patience modeled by our Jesus. We are to be His patience here on earth.

We are to be His patience as a display of controlled anger and selfish desires, for patience resides in an increasingly-content heart. We must trust that He ultimately has everything under control, so we don’t need to get worked up about it.

And we are to be His patience as a display of mercy. In another New Testament letter, Peter talked about how the Lord is not slow in expressing His just wrath and delaying his second coming. Rather, He is patient and merciful, giving those who yet live a little more time to repent and turn to Him. Therefore, we should also be patient in our love for others and our ongoing prayer for them, that they may seek and know Christ and grow in His light.

For He was, and still is, patient with us. And when we really remember that fact, it will often drain the bluster of our impatience.

Dear ones in Christ, be who you are. Be His patience. The world desperately needs it.

(Photo credit above: page from a speech manuscript, penned by George Washington, displayed at the NY Public Library.)

Fellow ambassadors for Christ, be His peace.

The Chinese, in Mandarin, have two main words for peace. The first, he ping, means the absence of war or what we might use to designate peaceful times politically. The second, ping an, means to be sheltered or calm, protected or safe, even if there is danger lurking outside the door or the storms of life are thundering around us.

“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace…” (Galatians 5:22). When we abide in Christ, we will naturally produce the fruit of peace. We will BE His peace, exemplified to the world in both senses of the Chinese words.

First, we are called to be people of peace and to pray for peace. I am cognizant, as I write this on a Memorial Day weekend, that many have sacrificed their lives to defend other people and moral beliefs or causes they held to be true. I also understand there are such real things as righteous anger and the theory of just warfare. But fundamentally and in daily life, Scripture points followers of Christ to give our responses with a more gentle touch, to turn the other cheek, to not seek revenge, and to promote peace and goodness in the communities where He plants us. We may find ourselves being asked to lift a weapon in times of battle, but our hearts should long for peace, and we should aim to promote peace in our responses to and attitudes toward others.

Second, only the peace of Jesus will give us a centering calm when circumstances of life could seek to wear down our faith and our hope. The storm that Jesus stilled from the boat on the sea was allowed to exist for a purpose….perhaps more than one purpose. And the ultimate purpose was so that He would receive glory. A big chunk of that glory playing out in His disciples’ lives then and in our lives now = how we may struggle with trusting Him for a short time, but when we see or remember how great He is, our sense of trust is grounded and our peace shines through all the more — even if the storm nearby still rages on.

And so, let us abide continually and pray faithfully, that we might promote peace, be at peace, and walk in peace. And His peace…not as the world gives (John 14:27).

Cling to the vine, look to the Son, draw from the source. Be who you are, dear ones. Exude peace.