Gentle Instruction
How would you rate yourself in gentleness?
Verse of the Day
‘Gently instruct those who oppose the truth. Perhaps God will change those people’s hearts, and they will learn the truth. Then they will come to their senses and escape from the devil’s trap. For they have been held captive by him to do whatever he wants.’
Today’s Devotional
There will probably always be people in our lives who do not believe in Jesus, the Bible, or a God who created them and loves them. Very few of us are called to be preachers. Even among preachers, very few of them are called to teach the Gospel to people who are unbelievers. Most preachers give their sermons to groups of believers. So why include this verse in our study of truth?
There will always be people who oppose God and His truth. This verse teaches us how to handle that.
With gentleness.
We cannot be critical, harsh, shaming, condemning, hateful, hurtful, severe, rough, cruel, or anything that does not fall under that category of gentleness. We must treat people how God treats us and meet people where they are.
I heard a story one time of a church that wanted to build a campus in a really rough part of town. This area was where a lot of skate boarders hung out. These skaters, not all of whom were juveniles, were covered in tattoos, had shaved and dyed hair, and many of them had substance abuse issues. The leadership of this church decided that if God allowed them to obtain this property, then this group of skaters was their new mission field. How do you think they handled trying to instruct this group about the gospel of Jesus?
Did they stand near the skate park and read the Bible aloud? Did they pull each skater aside and tell them everything they were doing wrong? Did they criticize them for their lifestyle?
Nope.
The staff members started bringing their lunches outside each day, sitting close to the ramps, and watching the skaters do all of their stunts. They did this every single day that the church offices were open. They learned the names of the skaters. They asked questions about their lives. They invited the skaters to attend church services. When one of them showed an interest in attending, they learned that the church service times interfered with the skaters’ practice and competition times. So the leadership of the church asked one of the leaders of this group what would be a good time to have a service if any of their people might want to attend. Then the church changed the times of their services to accommodate the skaters’ schedule.
Slowly, some of these skaters started attending this church. After a while, many decided to follow Jesus. Now, this church has a mobile team of skateboarding missionaries that travel all over the world, using their skating skills to gain access to people who would never attend a faith-based event.
Do you see how gentle that was? Sometimes sharing the Gospel requires going out of our way to make people feel seen, heard, and understood. Exactly where they are. Because that is exactly what God does for each one of us.
Journal Prompts
Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.
How gentle is God with you?
How gentle are you with others?
How can gentleness help someone accept the truth of the Bible?
How can you ask God to show you where you need to be more gentle?
How has someone shared hard truth with you in a gentle way? How effective was that?