5/19/2020 - Powerfully Meek (Gentleness Stone)

“Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” Ephesians 4:2-3

If you had the Infinity Gauntlet, what would happen when you snapped your fingers? 

“From the dawn of the universe, there was nothing. Then…boom. The Big Bang sent six elemental crystals hurtling across the virgin universe. These Infinity Stones each control an essential aspect of existence.” – Wong (a very underappreciated character from the Marvel Cinematic Universe) 

I spent several hours continually studying and going back and forth with this Christian Infinity Gauntlet and its Infinity Stones and with the Infinity Gauntlet and its Infinity Stones. I chose the colors and tried matching up all the Infinity Stones the best that I could. I think I did a pretty good job, too. There were some that could have gone in a couple different directions, but it is all one in the same. However, if you disagree with any of this, feel free to speak up. I would love to hear your thoughts.

“But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.” 1 Timothy 6:11

When Paul wrote out 1 Timothy 6:11, he had order in mind. If he had order in mind, I think it is only right that I go through each of these Infinity Stones with order in mind. With that saying, we have done the all the previous Stones (Righteousness, Godliness, Faith, Love and Endurance), now we will talk about the last one, the Gentleness Stone. In accordance with the Gentleness Stone I paired it with the Power Stone. 

I chose the Power Stone for a couple of reasons. The first thing I did with all the Infinity Stones, I wrote down all the colors that coincide with each of the original MCU Infinity Stones. Then I wrote down how the color of those stones match up metaphorically with the Bible. Throughout the Bible, the color purple is portrayed as: Priesthood, Kingship, royalty, mediator, and wealth. 

Then I went and saw what the color of the original MCU Infinity Stone was. The purple Infinity Stone was the Power Stone. The Power Stone can do a lot, but one of the main attributes is to do the obvious and give the user immense power (we will talk about more of what it really could do later).

William Barclay wrote, “Fourthly, there comes the virtue which looks to men. The Greek word is paupatheia. It is translated gentleness but is really untranslatable. It describes the spirit which never blazes into anger for its own wrongs but can be devastatingly angry for the wrongs of others. It describes the spirit which knows how to forgive and yet knows how to wage the battle of righteousness. It describes the spirit which walks at once in humility and yet in pride of its high calling from God. It describes the virtue by which at all times a man is enabled rightly to treat his fellow-men and rightly to regard himself.”

To me being gentle is being calm, being slow to anger. There are several things that we have to be gentle with in this world. Some of the biggest things that we have to be gentle with are things smaller and weaker than us, like babies, chicks, puppies, kittens, etc. We have to play gently with them in order to protect them and not break their bones. We have to be gentle when receiving and giving instruction. When you are gentle with receiving and giving instruction you are more likely to receive the information more and same with the other person. We have to be gentle with our adversary, the same way Jesus was. This is probably one of the hardest places to be gentle, but it is possible. There are so many people that come to my mind that embody gentle, but the three that come to my mind first (besides Jesus) are teachers, parents, and grandparents. When I think about why they are so gentle I think of a few things. Some of the things that come to my mind is the fact is they are always teaching, leading, and guiding us. There is obvious power in not being gentle when teaching, leading, and guiding. Authority alone already has power, but I feel there is more power in the authority of teaching, leading, and guiding in gentleness. It has a different level of respect, and there is vulnerability and humility in the gentleness which I find more susceptible to a better response. When you lead with gentleness it shows that you have control over the situation, I have found people that lead with crashing fist usually are overcompensating for something.

“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” (Matthew 5:5) 

Meek to me is something that I daily try to strive for in everything I do. Being meek is incredibly important in our walk with Jesus. Meek is quiet, gentle, easily imposed on; submissive (teachable). There are some great benefits to being meek. As Jesus says in Matthew during the Beatitudes (Matthew 5) and David said in Psalm 37:11, the meek will inherit the earth. When you are meek you are gentle and humble. The biggest thing from being meek, and what I strive for, is being teachable. When you are teachable you are able to learn, grow, and get better. We have to want this; we have to want this in life and especially with our walk with Jesus. 

I first really learned what meek was and the power of being teachable in Jesus was during my Life of Jesus class my senior year of college. My teacher explained this, and it blew my mind. He asked the class, “If someone told you that you were a sinner, how would you respond? Would you accept and want to learn more about why you fall short or would you fight back and be prideful?” This is one of the hardest things as a human to accept, and why a lot of people in the world won’t accept Jesus in their life, that we are naturally born sinners. So, for us to sin and fall is natural. As Christians we have to constantly want to grow in our faith. As people in this world we have to constantly want to grow in our knowledge. Knowledge makes you wealthier than money does. No matter how much we know and how much we learn, we will never know everything; there will always be an aspect that we fall short in. There is always going to be something that you can learn. There is always going to be a new perspective to take into account. Yes, this is the annoy thing about life, but I think the fun part (the adventure and challenge of learning all that you can).   

There are two people that inspire me that are meek, they are Andy Mineo and Kobe Bryant. Every Friday Propaganda on IG Live has a guest for conversation and a coffee. He goes through the process of making a pour over and then they go into conversation. Twice now Andy Mineo has been a guest. Just being a huge fan and following Andy for a while I could tell that he is a learner just based on the number of skills and talents that he has, and Propaganda confirmed it on Friday. He complemented him by saying that he is always learning and trying to learn the process of things. He is always asking questions on how to improve his ways. He is always asking questions trying to learn different aspects and perspectives of life. You can see the grow and the comfortability that Andy had in his second appearance versus his first appearance. This is what being meek is about, growth.

If you read the last devotional you would know the meekness of Kobe Bryant. But I will talk about it again. CC Sabathia and Ryan Rucco host a podcast call R2C2. They had an episode with Jay Williams where they talked about and remembered Kobe. (https://www.uninterrupted.com/podcasts/4QU0GTlhv2ACoUsGSYiSmG/r-2-c-2/UNIT1817378090/73-r-2-c-2-remembering-kobe-bryant-with-jay-williams). One thing that both CC and Jay shared was Kobe’s appetite for knowledge. If you had any knowledge for what Kobe was doing and where he was going, he would ask and talk to you about it. He just wanted to be the best at what he did, no matter if it was on or off the court; being a player or being a father. Jay talked about the badges of honor that you get from the highs and lows. They are learning opportunities, they show the real, they show the adversaries that you got through. Life isn’t all about game winners, it is about the work and the effort you put into converting those game winners. Kobe asked questions, he wanted to figure out why things works, what other would do in situations and why they would do it. He would ask if I step here or fake here, what would you do. He wanted to learn the different aspect of life and sports. He wanted to know other people’s routines. He wanted to know what made them click, what made them them. CC talked about how he would have to condition himself to be in the right mind frame when he was going to talk to Kobe.

This is the power of meekness. If you don’t learn, you don’t grow. The more you grow, the more you are able to appreciate other people and who they are more. The more you act in meekness, the easier it is to be gentle. 

Jesus during his final days went through some of the most excruciating things a man could go through. Jesus was blind folded, beat, spat on, had a crown of thorns beaten into his head, was flogged (look that up), dressed up and after was ripped off his blood soaked body and had to carry his own cross (which wasn’t light)…this was only some of the physical things that he had to go through. He alone was mocked and yelled at during his trial and walk to his crucifixion. I know for me I probably would have reacted like any other person would have; I would probably be throwing hands. You spit on me, ooooooo boy watch yourself. I would not be saying some Christian things in return. Jesus saved me, but New York raised me. However, that is not how Jesus reacted. He acted the complete opposite.

“Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.” (Luke 23:32-34) 

His response came in verse 34, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” He took everything that was thrown at him. He didn’t fight back at all. He took it “like a man”. There is so much power in this. Like we talked about with the Love Stone, there is so much power in love and it is the same with being gentle. He was God and he could have done whatever he wanted. He literally could have sent legions on legions of angels to fight for him. He could have snapped a finger and stopped the whole thing. He could have prevented the whole thing, since he knew what was going to happen. But he responded differently. He responded with gentleness. He responded to the hate with love, he turned heads and changed lives. This is the power of gentleness. We live in dark world that is full of hate and bullies.  When someone speaks and acts in the dark, they expect the fire to come right back them. As Christians, we are called to do the opposite. We are called to respond to hate and evil with love and gentleness. Jesus set the standard of the way during his ministry from beginning all the way to the end. He never threw more gas on the fire, he through the water. He turned heads, he made people question themselves and the way that they thought. The Bible converts, but the ultimate converter is the gentleness, love, and mercy of God.

“The Stone reacts to anything organic. The bigger the target, the bigger the power surge.” – Gamora

I am going to educate you on the MCU for a second or two (a little closer to two), but don’t skip it because it is necessary for the full explanation and the full experience.

After the whole universe came to be, the four immensely powerful Cosmic Entities created the 6 Infinity Stones out of 6 singularities. The Power Stone represent the destructive power of the universe. During the beginnings of time the Power Stone was used by Eson the Searcher to destroy everything in his path, whole civilization and planets, until it was placed in the Orb and forgotten about. It was than collected by nine Cosmic Beings who tried to communally harness the power of the Stone, but the energy was so strong it killed them. Eventually the Orb and the Stone were hidden in a secret tomb on the planet Morag, where the only way to get to it is every 300 years when the ocean receded. The Power Stone was then introduced in the MCU through Guardians of the Galaxy, when Star-Lord (Quill) found it. However, he was not the only one on a mission to retrieve the stone, Ronan the Accuser was also in search of the stone. After the forming of the soon to be Guardians of the Galaxy, they went to Knowhere to sell the Stone to the Collector before Ronan could get his hands on it. When they arrived at the Collector’s, he told them the history of the Power Stone which his servant overheard. She thought if she could grab the stone she could escape and kill the Collector, but the energy disintegrated her. When they saw the real power and harm that it could do, the Guardians decided to hold on to it and bring it to the authorities. On their way out they ran into Ronan and his men. Nebula and Gamora fought, with Nebula being the victor she took the Stone to Ronan. The original plan that Ronan had was to get the Orb and give it to Thanos to destroy Xander, but once he found out that it contained the Infinity Stone, he decided to do it all himself. Ronan took the Stone and attached it to his Cosmi-Rod, he gained the power to give him the confidence to not be afraid of Thanos. Once Ronan took the Stone, the Guardians of the Galaxy alerted the Nova Corps. During the battle Ronan used the Power Stone powered Cosmi-Rod to destroy the fleet of Nova Corps’s ships. As he was watching his destruction the Guardians of the Galaxy bombarded the cock pit, shooting Ronan in the chest with the Hadron Enforcer. Ronan surviving than slammed his rod down blasting the Guardians and causing his ship to crash to the ground. Thinking he won, Star-Lord challenged Ronan to a dance-off distracting him long enough for Drax to get another shot off at Ronan, destroying the Cosmi-Rod. (which sent the Stone flying). With the Stone in the air both Quill and Ronan reached for it, but Quill prevailed. As soon as Quill touched it, the Stone started to emit energy and started to destroy his body. Ronan thought it would destroy Quill and lead to his overall victory, but Quill held on. All touching each other and sharing the energy the Guardians were able to emit an energy blast to kill Ronan. Shortly after victory, Gamora put the Stone back in the Orb where it was then placed under the Nova Corps protection on Xander. The first stop that Thanos took during his hunt for the Infinity Stones was Xander, where he decimated them and stole the Power Stone for himself. His next stop was to get the Tesseract (the Space Stone) from Loki who was on the Asgardian ship. He used the Power Stone to torture Thor forcing Loki to cough it up, and then destroying the ship. He then used the Power Stone with the Space Stone to torture Nebula to force Gamora to reveal the location of the Soul Stone. After retrieving the Power Stone, Space Stone, Reality Stone, Soul Stone (in that order), he went to his home planet of Titan to retrieve the Time Stone. To retrieve the Time Stone, he had to get it from Dr. Strange. Battling Dr. Strange, half the Avenger and the Guardians of the Galaxy he used the Power Stone to fight them, destroy debris, emit bursts of energy and overpower them when they tried to rip the Gauntlet from his hand. One of the biggest uses of the Power Stone is when he used it to destroy Titan’s moon and hurl it on the attackers. To end the battle, he used the Power Stone to create a forcefield to block Iron Man’s attacks; he would then counter to beat Iron Man forcing Dr. Strange to hand the Time Stone over to Thanos (“the only way” that Thanos would be defeated). Thanos then after obtaining the Time Stone teleported via Space Stone to Wakanda where he ripped the final stone needed, the Mind Stone, out of Vision’s head; then we all know what happens next…SNAP (If you had the Infinity Gauntlet, what would happen when you snapped your fingers?) 

The Power Stone embodies both the sustaining and destructive natures of the universe. This allows the Stone to grant the user tremendous power themselves. Just like the other Stones, the Power Stone is among the most powerful entities in the universe, causing a weak wielder to be destroyed on touch. This is why Ronan used the Cosmi-Rod and Thanos the Infinity Gauntlet (even though Thanos is able to hold the Stones for a brief moment without damage before putting it in the Infinity Gauntlet). If the wielder is linked to others the power is distributed throughout all of them. The Power Stone is able to project energy beams and energy waves that are strong enough to destroy planets. The Stone’s power grants the wielder incredible strength and durability. Thanos like with the other stones knew its true power and was able to do more with it. He was able to shatter the Mirror Dimension, manipulate its energy into smaller task (torturing Thor, Nebula, and Iron Man), and causing its energy to overload objects to detonate it (the Asgardian ship). Thanos was also able to send energy strong enough to destroy Iron Man’s armour and also create a force field to withstand Iron Man’s attacks. Thanos also combined the power of the Power Stone with the power of other Stones. He used the Power Stone with the Space Stone to manipulate and redirect energy when he absorbed Iron Man’s attacks. Then the final combination of all 6 Infinity Stones, which we all know what happens with that.

“All Ronan has to do is touch the Stone to the planet’s surface and zap, all plants, animals, Nova Corps…Everything will die.” – Star-Lord and Gamora

If you had the Infinity Gauntlet, what would happen when you snapped your fingers?

Life is a war with everyday being a different battle. Some days we win, other we lose. However, the good news is that the war is already won, we just have to have faith to see it through. We every day being a new day, it leads to new tasks, new tests, and new things to learn. Every day is another opportunity to grow in our faith, grow in our love, grow in our gentleness and grow in our knowledge. We have to be open to the idea of new possibilities, new aspects of life, and new perspectives. We have to be meek; we have to be teachable. There is incredible power in being meek. When we are meek, we are open; we are open to learn everything we can. We learn how to grow from our mistakes, get up when we are knocked down, and learn how to see people and things with gentleness. Teacher, parents, and grandparents are some of the people that embody the love and gentleness of Christ. They are the ones that raise and teach the upcoming generations. When you teach, lead, and guide with gentleness the person is more susceptible to listen and respect you. This is the way that Jesus did it, he never through the gas on the fire, but respond with the Light and the Living Water. 

The Blue Letter Bible says, “Meekness toward God is that disposition of spirit in which we accept his dealings with us as good, and therefore without disputing or resisting. In the Old Testament, the meek are those wholly relying on God rather than their own strength to defend against injustice. Thus, meekness toward evil people means knowing God is permitting the injuries they inflict, that He is using them to purify His elect, and that He will deliver His elect in His time (Isiah 41:17, Luke 18:1-8). Gentleness or meekness is the opposite of self-assertiveness and self-interest. It stems from trust in God’s goodness and control over the situation. The gentle person is not occupied with self at all. This is a work of the Holy Spirit, not of the human will (Galatians 5:23).”

I challenge you to apply this to your daily life. Walk in meekness, do not mistake meekness for weakness. Respond to the enemy and the hate of the world the same way Jesus did, with love and gentleness.

If you had the Infinity Gauntlet, what would happen when you snapped your fingers?