Fruit of the Spirit Meekness 8 Have You Melted A Soul Lately?

Walking along, minding his own business, the Levite man headed to his destination. He had left Jerusalem and headed to Jericho, a 28 ½ mile trip. Within a short span of time, he was stripped of his clothes, robbed, beaten and left for dead. A priest came along and I’m sure the injured man probably thought, “here is a man of the cloth that is a MEEK man, filled with mercy”. However, the priest went to the other side of the road. Then along came a Levite who should have had a spirit of MEEKNESS towards one of his own, hopefully being filled with care and concern, but, he too crossed the street to stay away from what he deemed a nuisance. The dying man laid wondering if anyone would come to his rescue.

The word MEEK/NESS means “mild of temper; soft; gentle; not easily provoked or irritated; yielding; given to forbearance under injuries.” Jesus was described as MEEK in Matthew 11:28-30. He said, “Learn of Me for I am MEEK and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest for your souls.” In the Hebrew it is “mucus” – to melt.

This brings us to the dying individual in the parable that was in need of a MEEK person to come along. They had to be one filled with compassion, including a spirit of mild of temper, soft, gentle, not easily provoked…. Why? Because the person that came along was a Samaritan. He in actuality should have hated this Levite. He could have been angry in heart against him because everyone knew the Samaritans and the Levites were enemies. However, that was not the story here. In fact, the Bible tells us in Luke 11:33-35 that this Good Samaritan went over to the dying Levite, “he had compassion on him, 34 And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.”

We often think a MEEK person to be one of timidity, shyness, weakness, and the like, but in truth one who is of a MEEK spirit knows when to be angry, and yet even in anger is not provoked, but soft and gentle in the situation. That speaks of Christ and then given in example with the Good Samaritan parable.

I guess I would think of MEEKNESS as a banana in our Fruit Basket because it has a peeling about it for protection, yet inside is a firm, yet soft meat, with much nutritional value. Let’s place our bananas in the basket of the FRUIT of the Spirit. Are we going to be like Jesus offering rest to the weary through our MEEK spirits or as in the Hebrew, mucus – to melt, and melt the heart of someone that needs our Meek spirit to calm and care for them, providing rest for their weary soul?