I am gentle and lowly in heart. Matthew 11:29
In a recent book review of Think by John Piper, Pastor Greg encouraged the church to read the book, in part, to learn “how to read deeply, including how to read the Bible asking the right questions.” Because gaining a deeper understanding of a topic is a wonderful reason to read any book, I was surprised to read Dane’s Ortlund’s response to the question “what should someone do with the book, Gentle and Lowly?” Ortlund wrote that there is nothing a Christian needs to do or apply in their own lives after reading the book. Instead, Ortlund hoped that the reader would grow in greater affection for Christ.
It can be comforting to think of our sanctification as a checklist of topics to work through. However, Christ offers so much more! An intimate relationship with Him will not flourish based merely on a lifeless knowledge of facts; rather, we grow closer to Him through meditating on who He is and what He reveals himself to be - gentle and lowly. Ortlund’s book certainly discusses serious theological subjects like election, atonement, justification, and intercession, but Gentle and Lowly is not a book about the “how” of salvation but the “why”.
Jesus’ own description of his heart as gentle should encourage us
to dwell on His compassion. John Owen wrote “He is able, with all meekness and
gentleness, with patience and moderation, to bear with the infirmities, sins,
and provocations, of his people, even as a nurse or a nursing father bears with
the wakeness of a poor infant.” Just as a loving parent would never ignore a
baby’s cry, Jesus would never reject His people - those whom the Father has
given to Him. Jesus does not look past the seriousness and awfulness of sin, but
He manifests unfathomable compassion by humbling Himself and becoming obedient
to death, even to death on the cross (Philippians 2:8)
Christ’s description of himself as lowly is more difficult to picture.
How can the Bible’s description of Christ in Matthew 17:2 “and he was
transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes
became white as light” harmonize with the description of Christ as lowly?
Ortlund responds that lowly describes Christ as one who is accepting. Our
flesh tempts us to put on the best version of ourselves before God; and yet all
of our works outside of Christ are filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). Salvation follows
when we repent of our sins, completely humble ourselves, and trust in Him alone.
As the hymn writer, Charlotte Elliot, wrote -
“Just as I am, without one plea
But that Thy blood was shed for me
And that Thou bid'st me come to Thee
Oh, Lamb of God, I come, I come.”
Reader, if you do not know God the Father, then come to Jesus. He
is gentle and lowly. Compassionate and accepting. God loves His children because
of who Christ is – a lamb without spot or blemish (I Peter 1:19).
Reader, if you are a believer, then you will find Dane Ortlund’s
book, Gentle and Lowly, to be a wonderful exploration of all the ways that
Christ reveals His love and compassion to His people. Ortlund thoughtfully weaves
Puritan commentary with discussions of Scripture, and each of the 23 chapters pursues
a different aspect of Christ’s heart.
If you are a Providence Bible Fellowship church member, you can pick up a free copy at church if you commit to reading and studying the book with someone else.
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