Hello ICC Family!
28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV)
I often joke around and tell people that I am in the middle of approximately 350 books at any one time. Currently I have 13 sitting on my desk at home. This is not a humble-brag statement in any way, but a confession that I am no longer a very good reader. I want to be a good reader. I want to be a life-long learner. But it really has been a while since I have been anywhere close to a “voracious reader.” The reasons for this change are not even very good. They are the same for many people. First, is that I am getting older, and I get sleepy when I read for very long. I used to struggle with insomnia. Now I know that all I have to do to fall asleep is pick up a book - any book - and I will probably be asleep in 5-10 minutes. The second main reason is the same one that might end up being the end of civilization as we know it… I have been weakened and dumbed-down by scrolling on my phone. Even when I am reading actual things on my computer or phone, they are all designed to be read in 2-3 minutes at the most. It’s a wonder that anyone ever buys an actual book, let alone reads them! (As proof of this, I currently have 14 tabs open in my browser. This is much better than usual as I just closed out a bunch yesterday!)
Anyway… I am aware of the problem! And I will keep trying to read, but I don’t see things changing anytime soon. Joking aside, the reason I often get sidetracked in the middle of a book is that I will get to a point that an author is trying to make that I can’t quit thinking about. It will make me stop and make some notes. Do a little research. Pray about it. Read that chapter again. And so on. This process goes on for a month or so, and by the time I am ready to move on… I already have several other things I started reading.
One of those 350 books I am in the middle of has to do with the verse above… It is called Gentle and Lowly and it’s written by Dane Ortlund. This book was an award-winning book in 2020 and very popular at the time. I never really got past the main point of the book because it’s simple, yet deep, and incredibly encouraging. Thinking about the verse that we all know above, we love this verse because of the invitation and the benefit clearly stated to us. Jesus invites all who are tired and carrying a bunch of baggage to come to him. That sounds great because life is hard and I am tired, and yes, I am carrying a lot of junk. And I can find rest for my soul?… Yes, please. Sign me up! We are so focused on the benefit to us, that we miss how Jesus describes himself: As gentle and lowly.
As Ortlund explains… “In the one place in the Bible where the Son of God pulls back the veil and lets us peer way down into the core of who he is, we are not told that he is “cold and demanding in heart.” We are not told that he is “exalted and majestic in heart.” We are not even told that he is “joyful and generous in heart.” Letting Jesus set the terms, his surprising claim is that he is “gentle and lowly in heart.” Jesus was tough on the hypocritical insiders - the Pharisees and the Sadducees. But with the regular folk, He was “Humble. Tender. He is not trigger-happy. Not harsh, reactionary, or easily irritated…. He is the most understanding person in the universe. The posture most natural to him is not a pointed finger of accusation but open arms of embrace.”
I am not sure what all Ortlund says to flesh out the whole book because I just can’t get past this incredible observation of how Jesus described himself. Observed from a verse that I have read hundreds, if not thousands of times. Thanks be to God that we know and serve a Living Savior that kneels all the way down to our level and invites us to come to him and waits gently and lovingly to guide us in the way to go…
Blessings to you all. And know that I am praying for you!
Pastor Aaron
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