Gentle & Lowly · A Review from Matt Rice
There are not many books of late that I’ve purchased for others or recommended as highly - outside the Bible of course - as Dane Orlund’s Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers. There have been many reviews of this work, from many held in higher esteem than myself, but my humble plea is for others to read this book. Let’s dig into why Ortlund’s exploration into the heart of Christ matters for readers today.
If you’re like me you might have been skeptical whenever you read or discussed anything pertaining to the “heart of Christ.” The subject seemed like something without shape, unable to fit into my logical understanding of most things, and amorphous at best as it alluded my understanding. Entirely counter to this runs Ortlund’s approach and structure to his work. Each chapter is prefaced with an excerpt from Scripture that serves as the main focus when considering the heart of Christ. From the very beginning, Ortlund’s work develops and expounds on a simple correction pertaining to the heart of Christ: “when the Bible speaks of the heart… it is not speaking of our emotional life only but the central animating center of all we do.” Wow! The fog was lifted before my reading eyes and I wanted to dig deeper and learn more of what Ortlund was trying to explain.
Gentle and Lowly doesn’t mince words, yet it corrects in the same way it describes the heart of Christ. Ortlund’s chapters are succinct, clear to the point, and logically organized so that as I asked the question it was answered on the following page. Shifting between Old and New Testaments to look at the inner machinations of the guiding force of our Lord, Ortlund walks with his readers as he provides a deeper understanding concerning Christ and His work on our behalf. Using the invitation and call present in Matthew 11:28-30, Ortlund eloquently reminds readers of where they had come from before they knew Christ: “When we come to Christ, we are startled by the beauty of his welcoming heart. The surprise itself is what draws us in.” Do you remember that feeling of completion as Christ embraced your waywardness and called you his own? A sudden acceptance based upon no merit of your own, except that Christ loves you and calls you his own, this is the reality of every new believer in Christ!
When I had considered the heart of Christ previously on my own I was perplexed: how could I understand the heart of God or even live a life renewed because of it? In my ignorance I was caught entirely on the emotional aspect of our hearts. God was merciful in using someone as poignant as Ortlund to correct this misunderstanding. The heart of Christ is not limited to the second person of the Trinity, but animates and guides both the Father and the Spirit as well. Our call as believers is to consider and ponder “what animates [God], what [God’s] deepest delight is” as we live as his ambassadors in and through Christ. Gentle and Lowly is a reminder to grow deeper, to seek wholeheartedly, and rely fully on Christ’s finished work on our behalf.
Ortlund’s work grows out of a historically rich and theologically sound field of Puritans and famed Church Fathers as he pulls from B.B. Warfield, Jonathan Edwards, John Calvin, Charles Spurgeon, Richard Sibbes, and others. Thomas Goodwin’s works concerning the heart of Christ serve as the building block for Gentle and Lowly and its treatment has made me want to explore the works myself. Most importantly, Ortlund’s work is rich in its usage of Scripture, reliant fully on the Word of God to correct and guide his readers. Thus, when Ortlund states that “God’s ways and thoughts are not our ways and thoughts in that his thoughts are of love and ways of compassion that stretch to a degree beyond our mental horizon” his readers don’t see this as theological cowardice. Instead, his readers have already been “retiring [their] vision of God as [they] study the Scripture” and “helped by the great teachers of the past” in order to see that “judgment is [God’s] strange work and mercy his natural work.”
It is because of my own misunderstandings and assumptions that I had failed to see the heart of Christ, but also failed to live in light of its desires for me. Reading, as Ortlund quotes Flavel, “that this God in whose hand are all creatures, is your Father, and is much more tender of you than you are, or can be, of yourself.” In my own criticism of self I had failed to see the mercy and love that God has so lavished upon me. Ortlund’s reminder is a balm that points to the panacea for my very misguidings: “In his justice, God is exacting; in his mercy, God is overflowing.” This book brings clarity to how God works and just how deeply he loves us.
The only fault that I could begin to give to Dane Ortlund’s focus is that his work fizzles to an end. There is no grandiose sending out of readers or inspirational instructions to do all that the author has been writing. Instead, Ortlund prescribes his readers one simple and all sufficient guidance at the end of his work: “Go to Jesus.” In pointing his readers one last time to Christ, I believe Ortlund forces them to reconcile their own understanding of his heart as they close the book. In today’s darkened world we need reminders of Christ’s desire to see His people redeemed and restored. “Let you own unrighteousness, in all your darkness and despair, drive you to Jesus Christ, the righteous, in all his brightness and sufficiency.” Ortlund’s book will weather the test of time and become a classic in most modern Christian circles. Its correction in my own life has pointed me towards my Savior who calls out to me those precious words when I need to be reminded of them most, “Come to me.” I pray God might use it to influence the lives of others as well.