Fruit of the Spirit: Gentleness

In this message, Richard Barkhimer walks the students through gentleness as the next fruit of the Spirit, defining it not as weakness but as strength under control. He unpacks five qualities that make up a gentle person: understanding, which means taking the time to see things from another perspective rather than just pushing your own opinion; tenderness, which means responding with softness rather than harshness in moments of conflict; graciousness, which means extending the same grace to others that Christ extends to us; humility and teachability, which means staying open to learning from God and others rather than thinking we have it all figured out; and respectfulness, which means honoring everyone regardless of whether they have earned it. Richard closes by pointing to Jesus on the cross as the ultimate example of gentleness, who had the power to call down armies of angels but instead stayed in the will of God and responded with strength completely under control.