Those first three are connected to these three. But, the next three things in that list deal most with how we relate to others. Longsuffering – that’s patience, a willingness to put up with trying situations, and so on – gentleness, and goodness are things that we don’t see a lot in the world. They are vital, though. They are some of the things which, when put together form the kind of love true Christians show. Because, Jesus said we would be known by our love.
It’s easy to see why some of these things are important. Longsuffering helps to build patience in people. Goodness helps to separate Christians from those whose first thought is themselves. Or, it separates Christians from those who like to be mean.
Gentleness can be thought of in a physical way, of course. I think of how a toddler, who does not know his or her strength, is shown how to touch a puppy or kitten very gently. You put your hand on that small child’s, and demonstrate a gentle touch so they get the feel for it; they learn what “gentle” means.
In the same way, Jesus has put His hand on our hearts through the Spirit. Through His Holy Spirit, he’s teaching us these things. He gently nudges our hearts, but we have to be willing to hear Him. The Shunammite woman’s heart was nudged; she was good to others, she respected her husband and cared about him, even when he was failing. Her husband refused to listen to the Lord, so his heart wasn’t nudged. He didn’t have the faith to help the man of God, or to trust in God when it was necessary.
How good of a spiritual leader will you be? It depends on how much you listen to the Spirit’s gentle guidance in your heart to improve in all nine of these areas.
