I strive to be a Christian Perennialist. I strive to search, seek, understand and embrace the ‘truth’ that resides within all the faith, humanistic and philosophic traditions that I am exposed to. Recently I have been reflecting upon a few of the Christian strengths. The strength that keeps emerging into my consciousness is ‘Gentleness.’ As Francis de Sales notes: ‘Nothing is so strong as gentleness.’
Given this, I wonder why it is that we (in our culture) persist in associating gentleness with children, the sick and the elderly? As Christians why do we – more often than not – associate Christian Character with traits like courage, fortitude, discipline, and self-sacrifice? Why do we Christians so often define ourselves using these metaphors: struggle, war, conflict and sport? Perhaps one reason is that we came into existence as a persecuted people. When I think about it I realize that we Christians have been powerfully influenced by the electrifying words of imprisoned Christians: St. Paul, Boethius, John of the Cross; English Quaker, Puritan, and Baptist non-conformists; Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Martin Luther King, Jr (my list could go on but these few references will suffice for now).
These, and other writers, encourage us to consider the life of the Christian as a struggle, a war, or even as a sport. We are combatants in a cosmic struggle, at times a war with evil, or we are runners in the race (are we running toward or away from – Eric Fromm suggests that we Christians are running away from Freedom, for example). Why do these seem to be the favorite images of Christian preachers?
I wonder – about myself and about other Christians – as to how often we reflect upon a strength of Jesus that only rarely do we explore: ‘Gentleness.’ I am thinking of the passage from Col. 3:12): …he loves you and you should be clothed in sincere compassion, in kindness and humility, gentleness and patience.
As we know, Paul did encourage us to run a good race. He also encouraged us, as he did the Church at Ephesus to: Bear one another charitably, in complete selflessness, gentleness, and patience. Paul appealed to the Corinth Christians ‘by the gentleness…of Christ.’
Among other things, to be a Christian, for Paul, required that one be clothed in Christ – the garb cut from the cloth of a gentle texture.
Jesus, himself, said: Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened and I will give you rest. …learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart… (Matt. 11:28-29).
Searcher-Seeker 
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