Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Philippians 4:5
“And if you ask what is the temper which is most fitted to be victorious over sin on earth, I answer that in it the warp of a sunny gentleness must be woven across the woof of a strong character. That will make the best tissue to stand the wear and tear of the world’s trials. Our Lord was divinely gentle, but He was also strong with a wondrous strength and firmness.”
W. H. Lyttleton in Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers, compiled by Josiah Hotchkiss Gilbert (New York: Wilbur B. Ketcham, 1895) 255.
I want to send warm happy birthday greetings today to my mom, Patsy Hoag! Her warp (vertical threads of a tapestry) and woof (the horizontal threads) are sunny gentleness and strong character. When these two traits are combined they produce a generous spirit that blesses all around her.
I am asking God to help me grow in the “sunny gentleness” part. And, I think I located the way we can each nurture this trait in our lives in today’s Scripture. If we soak and sit in the reality of the nearness of our Lord, we find wondrous strength and firmness. Resting in Him help grow gentleness in us.
The world needs more people with the warp of sunny gentleness and the woof of a strong character. When we look at our Lord’s example, we see a generous mix of both. For us to exhibit the same in a world filled with trials, it seems that the secret for us is to rest together in the reality that “The Lord is near.”