This morning I woke to my cat gently patting my face with his paw, thankfully his claws were retracted.  So gently and lovingly he patted my closed eyelids with his paw. Then he licked my face a long loving stroke or two.  If you had watched my cat fighting the previous day, teeth and claws in action you would wonder if it be possible that this could be the same animal.

One of the most gentle of scenes I have ever seen was that of a huge crocodile softly bearing its young in her massive jaws.  She carried them without harm and they crawled freely in and around her huge sharp teeth.  Nature is full of such scenes where the strong have displayed great gentleness, and we all know at least one very tall strong man with a deep voice who has an extraordinary and surprisingly gentle nature.

Thoughts of gentleness flooded my mind and I thought of Christ commanding the strong wind and the waves to be quiet. Then the image of Him gently bearing little children in His arms, laughing and enjoying the day with them.  'The lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the world.'  He who willingly submitted to the painful death of the cross.

Promises of restoration, the lion laying down with the lamb, the strong and the gentle.  God spoke to me in this picture, telling me that I too should be as strong as the lion yet gentle like the lamb.  Showing gentleness in my dealings with people yet not allowing myself to become a 'sap' in the process. Sometimes it takes great strength of character to deal with a particular situation in our life, it may even demand great courage, yet we as Christians need to rely on God to give us that gentleness of character to bring His love into the situation.