Like a Lamb

 

A couple of summers ago we volunteered to help in the Petting Zoo part of the annual summer fair in which our church hosts our community. I most remember the lambs. They are lively, soft to touch, and seem incredibly fragile and defenseless. I’d never held a lamb before and will not forget learning for the first time the meaning of “gentle as a lamb.”

In English, GENTLE means acting in a manner that is mild, and even-tempered. It can also mean being lenient and compassionate toward others. In the OT, David declared at least two times that God had “given me the shield of your salvation, and your right hand supported me, and your gentleness made me great.” 

Could that greatness somehow be connected to the way I felt when a lamb crawled up into my lap? Somehow, the gentleness of these little ones effected my attitude toward others and now, thinking about gentleness, my attitude toward God.

Being GENTLE describes Him. God? Humble and mild? Like a lamb? Jesus said it in Matthew 11:29.

“Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

Taking the yoke of Jesus and learning from Him are made more vivid, more understood, from holding a lamb in my arms. Rest for my soul seems the best description of what it feels like to experience the gentleness of God, and as David expressed it, that gentleness means greatness; it means being more like Jesus.

Almost all the verses I could find talk about the gentleness God wants in the lives of His people. Of course it is the same gentleness David talked about and what Jesus said was true of Himself. I’m sitting here thinking of God being like that and feel almost dumbfounded, certainly in awe. I can envision the Lord as a lion who is King of kings, but as a lamb, meek, vulnerable, humble, even fragile — when He became a babe in a manger and a Savior on a cross? Thinking of Him this way changes my emotions, deepens my desire to know Him more, softens my heart to Him, to others, even to my enemies.

The NT talks about that response to Him. 1 Peter 3:15 tells me “In your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.” Thinking of Jesus as gentle changes my attitude toward those who don’t know Him and even those who do. Two more verses add to this:  

2 Corinthians 10:1. I, Paul, myself entreat you, by the meekness and gentleness of Christ—I who am humble when face to face with you, but bold toward you when I am away!

1 Thessalonians 2:7. But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children.

Yes, I agree. Holding a lamb is almost like holding a tiny child, giving the same sense of needing to be gentle, of being responsible for caring for this helpless life in my arms. And this is how Scripture describes God.

GAZE INTO HIS GLORY. This word gentle is about God’s care for His children, for me. It is His word describing how He is and how He wants me to be with others. I’m in awe at the idea of God being humble, mild, meek even, yet I know this is true and it is what He wants from me. Seeing Him and remembering the lambs changes my thoughts of both the Lord and the people around me. It also clarifies the yoke that Jesus wants me to share with Him. Such a wonder!