Attitude Power
Philippians 4: 5 Show a gentle attitude toward everyone. The Lord is coming
soon.
============
After receiving instructions from the LORD to serve my neighbors,
I was a bit confused, but did it anyway. Soon it became routine and something I
looked forward to. But there was one neighbor who would let their dog out
without supervision. The dog would inevitably “go” on my lawn. “Do I have to
serve them too?” I wondered.
- There
have been many people I wanted to “tell off.”
- There
have been many circumstances where I was annoyed.
- There
have been many situations that I could have been justified in reminding
“that” person about the rules.
What a strange statement Paul says. It is just shoved in
there but says a lot. “Show a gentle
attitude toward everyone. The Lord is coming soon.” Implies being caught in the
act of gentleness when the LORD returns.
My Observations
- GOD handles me gently when HE could handle my sin
with harsh discipline.
- JESUS was gentle with those who sought HIM for
their needs.
- GOD wants me to be gentle because HE was gentle
with me.
Gentleness is
extremely powerful. I mean, it takes incredible restraint not to complain about
“that” person or even judge him or her. GOD is all powerful and is justified
with all HIS actions. HE has and could almost wipe out all of humanity, BUT HE
shows us incredible restraint.
Instead HE gently
nudges me back to HIM. HE is gracious enough to open my eyes to say “Is
whatever I gain worth ‘that’ person losing their soul?” The answer is always
“No.” I am glad GOD gives me the opportunity to show gentleness each day.
Challenge
- Why does the writer mention the LORD’s return?
- When hearing the term ‘show gentleness”, do
specific people come to mind that you feel do not deserve gentleness?
- How can you align to GOD’s will which includes
salvation for all, even those you may not like?
- Will you gain the power the HOLY SPIRIT wants you
to have by being gentle to “that” person or “those” people today?
No comments:
Post a Comment