Rediscovering the Heart of Jesus

There’s a book which has been trending in Christian circles over the past six months or so. At first, I thought it was just a good marketing job of getting well-known authors and pastors to recommend it, but the good reviews were spreading to (no offence!) not so well known believers too. Plus, it has a really nice cover and comes in hardback, so I ordered a copy.

During a warm spring and summer in lockdown I read Gentle and Lowly by Dane Ortlund and realised what the fuss was about.

The tagline speaks of ‘the heart of Christ’ and this phrase has reframed how I see and think of Jesus: the true historical man who is God and still lives today.

To know his heart is to know who he is: the centre of his being, what he’s all about, what he cares about. Good news: the answer is that he is all about loving sinners and sufferers like me and like you!

A reminder of who Jesus is

We know that Jesus is historical in that he lived in the Middle East in what we now call the first century. Many will say he was a great teacher; true. Some will say a moral example; also true. Christians will want to go further and say he is God and saviour of mankind; certainly true.

Yet when we (Christians that is) think to describe Jesus we might not align with how he described himself. We say loving, powerful, strong, wise, mighty to save. All true, but Ortlund helpfully points us to what Jesus said about himself: gentle and lowly in heart.

How quick are we (am I) to go to what I know of Jesus without looking to what he says about himself in God’s word? This book will help reframe your thoughts of Jesus towards what he says about himself.

A biblical reflection

One of the strengths of Gentle and Lowly is how it leans on scripture to make its points — it’s not the thoughts and opinions of a man but founded on what God himself says

Each short chapter (less than 10 pages each) opens with a Bible verse and explores its theme with that verse as its basis.

The book makes an effort to show that the same truths about the heart of Jesus can be found throughout the Bible, New Testament and Old. Jesus is no antidote to a different, more aggressive God of the Old Testament.

Ortlund is also inspired by and the teachings of God’s people through history — mostly Thomas Goodwin and the Puritans — another reminder that this isn’t something new but a reminder of the truth of who Jesus is, was, and will be.

For sinners and sufferers

Who is this book for? It’s for anyone who is a sinner or who experiences suffering. That includes me and it includes you!

If you have come to a point of acknowledging your sinfulness then we see that Jesus calls you to come to him for forgiveness. He doesn’t judge you differently because of your sins (although he will judge your sins) but your sinfulness is one of the things that draws him near to you.

If you are suffering in any way — from pressures outside of you weighing you down, or pressures within making you weary — he calls you to give your burdens to him to take on.

Now I knew these things, but understanding anew the heart of Christ in this book has brought them to life once again.

In a time of uncertainty and hardship, the truths of this book were just what I needed, and has helped me love Jesus more and grow in faith.

I urge you to take it in for yourself too; you won’t be able to put it away once you do.

You can order a copy from 10ofthose or The Good Book Company.