Gentle Ben

“The practice of living in Spirit is like polishing a stone. No matter how rough the stone may have been, with perseverance and gentle care it will eventually shine, revealing the inner beauty and divine essence which was there all along. Within each of us lies a heavenly gem, waiting patiently for us beneath the surface of our conditioning. It is ready to be handled with our loving kindness that it may again shine radiantly and majestically, in harmony with all things in this grand and mysterious world.”

- James K. Papp

Yesterday, Pastor Jared taught on the eighth Fruit of the Spirit: Gentleness. He explained that the Greek word for Gentleness, prautes, is much like the Greek word for meekness, and means “strength or power under control.”

The first thought that came to my mind when he said this was the family show from the late 1960’s, Gentle Ben. Ben was a large brown bear (whose actual name was Bruno) who experienced fun and adventure with his friend, a young boy named Mark. Upon further research, I actually learned the television show was taken from a book written by Walt Morey in 1965 of the same name. The show ran for two seasons and went on to become an animated cartoon in the 1980s and two made-for-television movies in the 2000s.  

Gentle Ben epitomized the idea of “strength under control.” It’s funny how I never thought of that as a child, just assumed that all bears were gentle. However, as an adult, I fully realize that things could easily have gone awry had Ben not been well-trained and chose to remain gentle regardless of what happened around him.

The same holds true for us. Only when the power of the Holy Spirit is at work in us and we choose to surrender to His Will are we able to be gentle in all circumstances.

In Colossians 3:12, the Apostle Paul writes,

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”

When we submit to the power of the Holy Spirit within us and clothe ourselves with gentleness, we not only become like Gentle Ben, but as James K. Papp pointed out, we can become the polished stone God created us to be, a beautiful gem ready to shine radiantly and majestically.

Pastor Ken

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