Your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey. Matthew 21:5

A serviceman winced when his five-year-old daughter began singing, “Silent night, holy night, all is calm, all is bright, round yon virgin mother and child, Holy infantry, tender and mild . . .”

Generally, trained warriors refuse to be called gentle, yet this fruit of the Spirit is vital for healthy relationships. To equate gentleness with weakness is a great fallacy, though. The term gentle once referred to colts whose wills were broken into submission for riding, without cracking its spirit. When understood properly, gentleness has no relation to weakness; it signifies controlled power.

Jesus was gentle riding on a donkey; however, He was also a strong carpenter. His arrival was “peaceful, not warlike.” Yet verses later, He made a whip and beat those who desecrated God’s Temple. Christ vilified the hypocrites and rebuked the crooked religious leaders, though He was gentle (Matthew 11:29; 2 Corinthians 10:1). Christ could have destroyed His enemies with a call to legions of angels (Matthew 26:53). Instead, He chose to bear the fruit of gentleness, a controlled will by the Holy Spirit to defend God with an authoritative spirit of meekness. The next time you find yourself harsh, abrasive, or belligerent, seek a controlled softness in your authority. Be a part of the Holy infantry, tender and mild.

“Nothing is so strong as gentleness./Nothing so gentle as real strength.” – Saint Francis de Sales