I have a list of people I’d like to avoid because of their past comments to me or their past behavior. I often imagine that the next conversation would go further south so I do not give them much of a chance. But that attitude was not found in Jesus. He crossed boundaries and looked right into their hearts to show each one who He was. I want to grow deeper in my walk with Him to overcome my avoidance and always be looking for ways to reach out, saying the right thing at the right time. You and I have to be patient to be that person as we grow deeper. I’m working on my attitude but I’ve got a long way to go. I want to look more at Christ than my own selfish defenses.
“The means of our communication needs to be gentle, because gentleness also characterizes the subject of our communication. What we are seeking to defend or explain is Jesus himself, who is a gentle, loving shepherd. If we are not gentle in how we present the good news, how will people encounter the gentle and loving Messiah we want to point to? And finally, in an age shaped by feuding intellectual commitments and cultural battles over religion, science, truth, and morality, how will we get a hearing by merely insisting that we have truth and reason on our side? - Dallas Willard, The Allure of Gentleness
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