Gentle And Lowly

Questions to ponder

What did Jesus mean when he said he is gentle and lowly?

How can we be gentle and lowly like Jesus?

What does Jesus mean by his yoke is easy and his burden is light?

English Standard Version Chapter 11

Matthew 11:29

Jesus’s whole ministry and his purpose here on earth was about being of service to the children of God and giving them a way to become reconciled with the father. Not only did he take on the sins of the world but he also used his life and his time here to show the world exactly how to flee from our own sins in the process. When we become reborn and are a dwelling place for Holy Spirit we have inherited the strength and the wisdom to repent and turn from our sins. We just have to learn to walk as Christ did and use his ways and his words to be our compass to a life of Holiness. Having the Holy Spirit to guide us in our decisions and redirect us when we get off course. So what does it mean to be gentle and lowly like our Lord Jesus Christ. For this lets look to scripture and we find our answer in Philippians 2:3-10

English Standard Version Chapter 2

Philippians 2:3

So what does this mean? well we start with getting rid of selfishness and conceit. If we are strong in our faith then we know our name is in the book of life and rather than holding ourselves in high regard we must use our status in the kingdom of God to serve others in the hopes that they too will enter the kingdom alongside us! This is having our mind among ourselves in Christ Jesus! And so having emptied himself taking the form of a servant and being found in human form Jesus humbled himself and became obedient to the father to the point of death...on a cross. a gruesome and torturous way to die. Humility and obedience are the key here. When we empty ourselves and become humble before the Lord obedience should be the goal and come along after letting go of our desires of the flesh and the earthly need to be self-serving. obedience to the point of death on cross is the ultimate standard that was set before us by Jesus. Now this may be a hard pill to swallow but some of us are willing to live for The Lord but if the time comes are you willing to die for him as he did for us? We are called to take up our cross daily which does have a cost in this world. Are you willing to pay that price? With that said Jesus also tells us his yoke is easy and his burden is light. what did he mean by this? Well when we are living for the world we cant find true peace, something that only he can provide. So times of struggle and turmoil can be overwhelming and seemingly never ending. It can same hopeless with no way out and these feelings are on an infinit loop with little to no reprieve. When we take up his yoke and live like him and for him we can have faith in knowing that he will help to carry our burdens. He will give us strength in times of weakness. Guidance in times of uncertainty and provide for us in times of need. When we live for him we can take heart in knowing we will never be alone. That he will always be there because he is faithful and good. Now lets move on a few verse ahead in Philippians 2:14-15 for some more answers to our question of how to be gentle and lowly as Christ is.

English Standard Version Chapter 2

14 Do all things without grumbling or disputing, 15 that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world

Now if we follow the original outline we just spoke about and we do these things without grumbling or disputing meaning we happily serve those around because its what Jesus wants us to do, its what Jesus did and so we do these things out of the love he has put into our hearts then we may become blameless and innocent, without blemish in this lost and broken world. this leads us to be a light that shines bright into the darkness of the world and a beacon for those looking for a way out of the darkness and looking for life filled with hope and the peace of the Lord! John 3:30 says “He must increase ,but i must decrease.” This verse details the job of every Disciple of Christ in the world. Our goal is to become more and more like like Jesus Christ. Our importance and prominence in this world should become fully absorbed by the importance of Jesus! His will, His way, His words, His love, His plans until all that is left is the reflection of the Son of God! As he increases we inevitably decrease. So here is the question i’m putting out to all of you. Are you letting yourself get in the way of letting the Holy Spirit guide you into living a gentle and lowly life as our Lord? If you find this to be true then maybe its time to get to know the things that are still holding back. Ask God for his guidance and wisdom on the matter And when you come to find the root of the problem ask God for the strength to give it up to him so he can remove it from your life. When we earnestly seek God and ask him to guide us in our efforts then we can live in the righteousness bestowed upon us by the gentle and lowly Jesus Christ who was fully man and fully God. Who was humble and obedient to the father to the point of death on a cross. Who lived a perfect life and died a sinners death and was resurrected in order defeat death so that we who put our faith in him may have the gift of grace through faith and eternal life with him in paradise. So when we live in this righteousness he bestowed upon us we will live as a gentle and lowly servant of God. Who sheds a shining light to this lost and broken world that lead others out of the darkness. This is our calling, this is our purpose, this is how to live a life that honors and glorifies God. A life that is pleasing to The Lord! Now with all of this to consider i wish to leave you with one last piece of scripture to chew on for a while. Something that seems to indicate that how we live our lives now could affect our life to come.

1 John 4:17- “And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgement, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in the world.”

So let’s take his yoke upon us and learn from him, for he is gentle and lowly in heart, and we will find rest for our souls. For his yoke is easy and his burden is light.