I was recently asked to transcribe an old magazine article in which the author (identified only as J. R. N.) was apparently conducting a series of articles surveying his experience at various church gatherings at the end of the nineteenth century. This particular entry was dated April 5, 1895. It was a fascinating read for a variety of reasons, providing a glimpse into the life of a Canadian Baptist congregation in Toronto before the turn of the century.
One aspect of this article, however, jumped off the page at me—namely, the description of the minister, one Rev. B. D. Thomas. It was recorded that “his eyes have a glance that little children would not be afraid of” and “[h]e has humility that comes from contemplation of great things, and … his people [likely] find that he has a good deal of sunshine in his nature.”
My mind was immediately transported to the manner in which Augustine recounted the character of Bishop Ambrose in his classic Confessions. When Augustine first met Ambrose, Augustine had not yet become a Christian but was still on his long quest for truth. What was impressed upon Augustine concerning the bishop was less his doctrinal acumen, but simply that Ambrose was a man who was kind to him.
I can’t help but suspect that this was a similar quality detected regarding Rev. Thomas. Perhaps there was such a conspicuous accent of warmth and openness (maybe even a type of “hospitality”) in his person that it required only simple observation to discern.
Within our contemporary context, I wonder how much the importance of this trait has been lost—not only for Christians generally, but particularly for those aspiring to leadership roles: pastoral or otherwise.
The media ecosystem afforded by the internet has almost certainly heightened the neglect of this virtue in exchange for using disembodied opponents as digital punching bags. This is not to undermine the custodial necessity of the Church for the preservation of gospel truth, nor is it to discourage the utilization of more modern modes of communication to do so—nor does it naïvely ignore the reality that faithful custodianship will inevitably invite varying degrees of conflict.
But at the same time, contending for biblical fidelity in the midst of conflict or opposition also does not negate the necessary development of genuine “sunniness,” which ought to be the endeavor of all Christians.
As a closing remark, people who exude such radiance have likely done so by internalizing what Paul articulates 2 Timothy 2:24-25:
“And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth…”
Contra to Rev. Thomas, when a lack of gentleness is absent in our demeanor, it is rarely because we think so highly of God—but rather because we think too highly of ourselves.