Sixth Fruit of the Spirit: Gentleness

Help me to learn God's gentle way.

The sixth Fruit of the Spirit is Gentleness. Gentleness is a participation in God's way of doing things that is at once gentle and firm, sustaining all creation with its enormous diversity, yet without effort. We labor in the service of God more than ever, and yet have the sense of stepping back and watching God make things happen according to his will both in ourselves and in others.

Our anxious efforts to serve God and our anguished search of God cease. Like God we labor and are at rest at the same time. We work hard but we know by experience, even by bitter experience, that our efforts are not going to go anywhere except insofar as God makes them fruitful. Hence vanity, jealousy, and contention--which often accompany even our spiritual endeavors--are gradually evacuated, leaving immense freedom just to be who we are and to serve the special needs of those around us.

Matthew 11:29 Learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart...