4th in a series of four. About a three-minute read.
Things are okay now, but . . .
Not too long ago I was having some weird heart rhythm issues. It made me dizzy, light-headed, winded, foggy-brained, and a bit panicky. A few times, I almost passed out. The change from a very dependable, rhythmic heart to something that I wasn’t sure I could count on was . . . disturbing.
Thankfully, some things never change. Like, the utterly dependable, eternally compassionate, approachable heart of God.
The gentle, lowly, approachable heart of Jesus
The only time Jesus describes His own heart is in Matthew 11:28-30 (ESV). “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Emphasis added)
In his book, Gentle and Lowly, Dane Ortlund states, “The heart, in biblical terms, is not part of who we are but the center of who we are. Our heart is what defines and directs us . . . The heart drives all we do. It is who we are.” (pp. 18-19)
Some things never change. What is this thing that defines and directs our Lord Jesus, the key thing, the dependable go-to, that He wants us to know about His heart-motivation? Ortlund answers:
“Gentle and lowly.” This, according to his own testimony, is Christ’s very heart. This is who he is. Tender. Open. Welcoming. Accommodating. Understanding. Willing. If we are asked to say only one thing about who Jesus is, we would be honoring Jesus’s own teaching if our answer is, gentle and lowly.
If Jesus hosted his own personal website, the most prominent line of the “About Me” dropdown would read: GENTLE AND LOWLY IN HEART. (p. 21)
“Come to me . . .” This is who Jesus is for us who come to Him. His arms are open wide. He longs for us. To respond. To Him.
Some things never change.
Everything else around us will change. Circumstances. Feelings. Expectations. The weather. Our bodies. Our social support systems. Our energy levels.
It is as if Jesus says, “Come to me when you are weary and burdened. When life seems like too much to handle. When things feel turned upside down. When your joy is robbed by the sin in you and around you. When you are burned out. When you get up, when you lay down. . . I am welcoming, tender, accommodating, open, understanding, willing and eager to receive you. I am not far from you or unreachable. My arms are open. Just come.”
Some things never change, like . . .
The eternally compassionate heart of God
We know that Jesus does not change. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8)
We know that Jesus is God. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1)
We know that “the Lord is full of compassion and mercy.” (James 5:11b)
We feel God’s heart as Jesus weeps over Jerusalem, and as He is standing at Lazarus’ tomb.
We watch in wonder as (through the eyes of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) we see Jesus, moved with compassion, touching the leper, opening the eyes of the blind, feeding the hungry, rebuilding the legs of the lame, setting free the demonized, and even raising the dead to life.
With Nicodemus, we feel His heart and commitment to His mission and passion, as if He looks straight into our eyes and declares, “God (my Father) loves the world so much (and that includes you!) that He gave His one and only Son (do you feel my Father’s heart?) so that whoever believes in me–trusts me, responds to my love, follows me, clings to me–will not suffer eternal death and separation from God. Instead, my followers will have eternal life, experiencing my love forever! My heart reaches to you in love, longing for your response. Come to me. I will never turn you away.” (John 3:16-18,6:37; author’s paraphrase)
Yes!
Some things never change!
The utterly dependable heart of God
“The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. The LORD is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made . . . The LORD is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made.” (Psalm 145:8-9, 13b)
Yes, Lord! We hear your voice. We humbly move toward you, responding, tentatively reaching out to you.
Can this be? We drop to our knees in awe. We see your arms open wide, running toward us, as if we are embedded in your story of the prodigal child!
We lean into you close. We feel the rhythm of your heart. From forever past into forever future, your heart pulses with love, mercy, forgiveness, grace. Utterly dependable, you are faithful to all your promises and loving toward all you have made, rich in love!
“Come to me . . .”
Some things never change.
I am thankful that our Lord God never changes. In a world that is rapidly changing, we can still come to the him, the lowly in heart and find all we need. I appreciated this devotional, Steve. God bless you.
Thanks, Steve, we all needed to be reminded. I want to have a healthy fear of God, learning what that really means. . terrified to stay away from Him. And the coming judgment and wrath of the Lamb to all who reject Him. Wow, juxtaposed against the gentle and humble character of Jesus…it’s hard to put together, but
such mystery of God- both true, right? Any thoughts? I just know I love Him.
Thank you, Laurie. For me, a healthy fear of God is the awe of who He is, yet that He would love me nonetheless. Yes, holy, exalted Judge is He, but I am learning how His deep, foundational love not only rescues and secures me, it also welcomes (propels? magnetizes? draws? tractor-beams?) me into His heart, into His eternal plans and purposes. A huge part of that is learning to love Him with all one’s heart, and figuring out what it means to love one’s (ok, my) neighbor as myself. And surely an integral part of that is love in word and deed–acts of love and verbalizing the “story” of His love for others–in anticipation they too will know the loving heart of God. Juxtaposition? Perhaps like John 3:16-17. God lovingly sent His Son into the world not to condemn the world but to save the world.