There is a rather radical gap between the two things that hold my attention most Sunday afternoons in the Fall. On the one hand my eyes are glued to the television as I watch the Pittsburgh Steelers go to battle. These men are virtual giants. Our quarterback is bigger than our Hall of Fame middle linebacker was back in the 70s. Our offensive lineman average over 300 pounds. This year’s first pick in our draft is a wide receiver who is 6’4” 240 pounds. These men are behemoths, (and, you might be interested to know, they are also, as I type, undefeated).
The other thing that holds my attention is little, demure, gentle and fierce. For, sitting right beside me watching the game is my beloved wife, Lisa. She is my partner, my best friend. And she is faithful to her pre-marital vows. Her vow to me was that she would cheer for the Steelers. My wedding gift to her was citizenship in Steeler Nation. Better still, however, she is faithful to our Lord, and that is where the fierceness comes in.
As big and powerful as the Steeler players are, the God who made them is bigger still. And He is the Maker, Father, Protector, Teacher, Guarder of my wife. He hears her prayers. Which is just how she can be both gentle and fierce.
It is our habit, morning and evening, to read a portion of Scripture (we follow Nicky Gumble’s Through the Bible in a Year plan on youversion). It is our habit to pray together next. This morning, the morning after we watched the Steelers secure their 8th victory of the year so far, she knocked me over, sacked me, de-cleated me, pancaked me, gave me a slobber-knocker when she asked our Father to bless us both with a “mighty tenderness.”
A mighty tenderness. It is one thing to know and affirm the might of tenderness. It is still another to know and affirm the tenderness of might. She was asking that we would both know the great power He has bestowed on us as joint heirs in Christ, that we are more than conquerors. And she was asking that we would both know that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but gentle, not destructive but life giving, not harsh, but tender. This gentle and soft gift to me from our Lord was roaring like a lion and purring like a kitten, because she knows the two are one. Just as we are.
We ought all to ask our Father, the Almighty, He who makes the mountains to shake, to bless us with power and might. We ought all ask the Son, our Lord, the lover of our souls, He who would not extinguish a smoldering wick, to bless us with His own tenderness. We ought all to ask the Spirit, the font of wisdom, to grant us the wisdom to know that might ought always be tender and that tenderness will always have might.