Tenderness of Spirit - G.D. Watson

The very essence of the Gospel is a divinely imparted tenderness and sweetness of Spirit. Without this, even the strongest religious life is a misrepresentation of the true Christ-life. Unfortunately, even among intensely religious people, we seldom see this all-pervading spirit of tenderness. The Christ-life is not abiding in them.

Tenderness of spirit is preeminently divine. We are not speaking of the soft sensibility of a mere gentle make-up. Rather, it is a supernatural work of the Spirit that transforms the inner nature into a merciful type of gentle love. “Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.” (Luke 6:36)

Tenderness of spirit mellows the will, softens the judgments, melts the affections, refines the manners and molds the whole being after the image of Him who was infinitely meek and lowly in heart. While some people will go out of their way to occasionally put on a display of tenderness, it is generally short-lived. It is quickly lost when someone crosses their will. We are now referring to an inner nature that naturally expresses tender mercies in the most difficult of circumstances. It is emphatically supernatural and will flow out incessantly from the inner fountains of the soul once the inner being has become filled with God’s life of love. It is in this sense we can find Paul praying that Christians may “know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” (Eph. 3:19)

Deep tenderness of spirit is the very essence of the Christ-life. What gravity is to the planet, what perfume is to the rose, what rhythm is to poetry, what harmony is to music, all this and much more is what tenderness of spirit is to the Christ-life. It is possible to be very religious, and staunch, and persevering in all Christian duties, even to be sanctified and a brave preacher of holiness, and yet to be greatly lacking in tenderness of spirit, which is that all-subduing, all melting love that is the very essence of Heaven.

This merciful and loving tenderness is not the sap that flows up in the grape vine in early spring. On the contrary, it is the sweet and pure juice of the grape that has been crushed out under the mighty squeeze of the winepress. It is in connection with Job’s manifold and strange sufferings that he says, “God had made his heart soft.”

Madam Guyon says that while we are purified from sin by the blood of Jesus, the attributes and constitution of our nature must be utterly broken under the manifold cross of suffering to render us divine-like in our feelings and sympathies.

We often see Christians who are bright and clever and strong; in fact, a little too bright, and a little too strong. They do their best to leave the impression they are living holy and righteous lives. But we can also see the self-life in their strength. Their righteousness has therefore remained severe and critical. They have everything they need to become heavenly saints except the crushing weight of crucifixion to grind them into a supernatural tenderness.

The merciful and loving tenderness that comes from Christ will never put out a flickering wick in any soul. It instinctively avoids wounding the feelings of others by wrangling in an argumentative way. Having lost the desire to quarrel, it carries its point by ceasing to contend.

If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which accords with godliness, he is proud, knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words, from which come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions, useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth…. From such withdraw yourself. (1 Tim. 6:3-5)

But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. (Jam. 3:17)

And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth… (2 Tim 2:24-25)

Tender love cannot be provoked into harsh judgments and it “thinks no evil.” It instinctively buries and forgets all bad things. Those who are tender in spirit see all things from God’s standpoint. Because they have come to a knowledge of God, they have a personal knowledge of how divine “love suffers long and is kind…does not seek its own, is not provoked…thinks no evil…bears all things.”