A Perfectly Fitted Savior
With a mouth gaping posture the crocodile lay motionless. Suddenly before the bush dog knew it was kill his head was snapped gone. Yet later those same terrible jaws were seen caring for eggs. Jaws that tore a dog in half now carried delicate crocodile eggs with the gentleness of a falling snow. Perhaps crude but this gets us close to a picture of what the Bible means by the gentleness found in our Jesus. Gentleness in Christ is not the absence of strength but the right application of his strength to a tender situation or soul.
Think of what Jesus broke with his strength. Demons begged to rent pigs before his power. A perfect storm was stilled to a dead calm. The blind saw and the lame leapt. Jesus even dealt death a death blow for sins forgiven and for our salvation. “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Corinthians 15:20).
And yet in Jesus enormous strength does not lead to callousness. He can take on the strongest of our foes and always prevail. But his capacity to confront doesn’t lead to unnecessary conflict. He doesn’t trample people. Christ can crush a serpent, but he can also hold the delicate in his care. Isaiah puts it like this: “A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;” (Isaiah 42:3).
The reed or dalamus plant has a hollow stem and grows by the sides of lakes and rivers. It was used for making music or fashioned into pens for writing. It is weak, fragile, and brittle. A wild beast easily snaps it with a paw or even a bird too heavy that lights upon it. Other stems can be mended but not the reed. Or think of a smoldering wick. Barely a flicker left in it, a mere speck of orange light, the tiniest zephyr would certainly snuff it out.
Are you bruised? Do you feel near a breaking point? Or do you feel like the flame of your hope is flickering? Listen to the promises of your God. “Never broken. Never snuffed out. Having all firmly set right.” There is no wound or vulnerability Jesus doesn’t understand or handle with the utmost care. He is someone you can trust with your most tender bruises and or fragility. Jesus will apply his unimaginable strength to you with sensitivity. Here is one you can actually trust with your deepest pains and bruises. No one is more fearsome, but none is gentler.
Bruised but never broken. Flickering but never snuffed out. My friend, dare to believe these promises. Thank him for them. Live in the good of them.
