A Gentle Answer

It is only right that I pen today’s blog as a follow-up to last week’s blog, Sermon on the Mount.

I shared how churches often miss the purpose of their existence by becoming comfortable in their cliques and thus not reaching out to both visitors and to those outside of the four walls of their own churches.

After posting the blog, I felt inclined to send an email to the pastor of the church we had visited that morning and attaching my blog.  I’m not always the sharpest tool in the shop but most of the time I mean well.

I had zero expectations of receiving a response to my email.  I thought that if I received a response at all it would be words written in defense. Mostly, I went about my day and soon forgot that I had sent the email at all.

The following morning I received a response from the pastor regarding my email and blog.  It was a very long email.

I wondered if I should read the email and quickly prepared myself mentally to get a spiritual butt whooping for being so honest and real.

Instead, the words before my eyes crushed me, in a good way.  The words were written in humility from a man of God longing to do church in the way that Jesus would want church to be done.  

There were no harsh words, only gentle words in response to my blog filled with disappointment and hurt.  

I was taken aback at the heart behind the man; I was deeply humbled.

This morning we revisited the church, as per the pastor’s advice in our email exchange.  He said that he would be looking for me.  I seriously considered changing my name to avoid an awkward introduction.  Suddenly I related to Paul’s words when he wrote to the Corinthians saying that he was “timid” when face to face but “bold” when away (2 Corinthians 10:1).

There was no awkward introduction as he warmly embraced our family.  

I have been thinking a lot over the last week about the Proverb, “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger” (Proverbs 15:1).  

Although I had no intentions of returning to this particular church when we left after last Sunday’s visit, gentle words spoken in true humility have a way of breaking the bones of even a rebel like me.

Today as I sat through service with a new attitude and a humbled spirit, I felt whatever it is you are supposed to feel when you know you belong somewhere.

Not only does a gentle answer turn away wrath, it also draws out the deep desires and longings of the heart to both draw near to God and to be a part of His family, the church.

Stay the Course...

Sheila Cote