Good Friday

I am reading Dane Ortlund’s book, Gentle and Lowly,  on this Good Friday.

 "Our natural intuition can only give us a God like us. The God revealed in the Scripture deconstructs our intuitive predilections and startles us with one whose infinitude of perfections is match b his infiniite of gentleness. Indeed, his perfections include his perfection gentleness.

(By gentleness Ortlund focuses on kindness.)

I like what he is writing but I hope he gets into the context of these verses, because context always matters. The context is 1. Messengers come from John; 2. Judgments pronounced on the cities of the Galilee for not responding to the miracles and message; 3. A discourse on His intimate relationship with the Father. Then "Come unto me, all you who labor and are heavy laden." And definitely we are, as His hearers then were. In light of His power and deity, come. He's the one who has the right to make that invitation.

I wonder if Ortlund has an agenda, to say, Let’s get away from Trumpism and this worship of manic, dictatorial power in politics and return to the heart of Christ. And I’m all in with that because too many Christians have allowed the ethos of the church to be altered, almost transformed because of desire for political power and belief that we need it to build the kingdom.

 Jesus' heart is infinitely kind, gentle, accessible, approachable, accepting, pure, and humble (in a certain way). Nowhere is that shown more than in and on the cross. The cross only matters because of WHO IS on it, because HE WAS on it, because I AM was on it. We must remember that always.

Yet, Jesus is bigger and grander and greater and more multi-faceted than our minds can fathom, and He is more than lowly and gentle. Thank God He is!