A holy calling.

I’ve always known that Christians should be gentle. They should help others and show kindness to everyone. I’m sure you also know that, but how many of us understand the true significance of gentleness? It goes deeper than helping or being kind- it is a fruit of the spirit that should penetrate the very fiber of your being. It’s what makes us like Christ; it is the evident mark of true Christianity. This is the kind of lifestyle that makes others stop and think about your actions. And you know how you can evaluate whether or not your life is marked by this kind of gentleness? By looking at your interactions with other people. Especially when you interact with people that seem to live in order to teach you how to love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. It’s so easy to think that you are a gentle person just because you try to be nice to everyone. I would like to tell you, however, that Christ’s model of gentleness is not of this world. It is something that we can never attain in our own strength but a quality that few Christians did possess throughout history because they’ve allowed the Potter to shape their hearts into worthy vessels. Let me tell you a little bit about the word myrtle. It’s a word that can be found in the Bible, especially in the Old Testament prophecies. I would’ve never known about this beautiful tree if it weren’t for the significance of my name. My name means “Esther” in Romanian but that wasn’t her real name- it was Hadassah. Her real name means “myrtle,” a little tree that usually grows in desert places and whose leaves are present year-round. If you were to smell it, it wouldn’t smell like anything really but the secret lies in crushing its pink flowers because that is when the perfume is released. Just like the myrtle tree, we should also live lives of gentleness by loving even those that ridicule or persecute us. In the words of Richard Wurmbrand, “A flower, when being crushed, rewards you by giving perfume.” I’ve seen countless Christians who fail to realize that true Christianity is marked by Christ’s yoke- a gentle and humble spirit. We are not called to look like Christians, but to be Christians- to live lives marked by the power and strength of true gentleness. What a high calling!