Dane Ortlund's book Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers has not only helped renew my awe of God's love for me, but it has also opened my eyes anew to God's mercy and kindness that He lavishes on us as His children.
It is comforting to know that when we fail and sin against Him, He doesn't abandon us. He comes after as to pour His love and mercy over us. It's as if He pursues us more when we have sinned or are suffering as we look to Him for forgiveness and help. The key is that we need to come and turn to Him. When we do, blessings abound:
What elicits tenderness from Jesus is not the severity of the sin but whether the sinner comes to him. Whatever our offense, he deals gently with us. If we never come to him, we will experience a judgment so fierce it will be like a double-edged sword coming out of his mouth at us (Rev. 1:16; 2:12; 19:15, 21). If we do come to him, as fierce as his lion-like judgment would have been against us, so deep will be his lamb-like tenderness for us (cf. Rev. 5:5-6; Isa. 40:10-11) (p.54).
Further, Dane concludes chapter 5, "He Deals Gently," by reminding us:
Contrary to what we expect to be the case, therefore, the deeper into weakness and suffering and testing we go, the deeper Christ's solidarity with us. As we go down into pain and anguish, we are descending ever deeper into Christ's very heart, not away from it.
Look to Christ. He deals gently with you. It's the only way he knows how to be. He is the high priest to end all high priests. As long as you fix your attention on your sin, you will fail to see how you can be safe. But as long as you look to this high priest, you will fail to see how you can be in danger. Looking inside ourselves, we can anticipate only harshness from heaven. Looking out to Christ, we can anticipate only gentleness (p.57).
At the end of Chapter 6, "I Will Never Cast Out," Dane reminds us:
[Christ] cannot bear to part with his own, even when they most deserve to be forsaken...For those united to him, the heart of Jesus is not a rental; it is your new permanent residence. You are not a tenant; you are a child. His heart is not a ticking time bomb; his heart is the green pastures and still waters of endless reassurances of his presence and comfort, whatever our present spiritual accomplishments. It is who he is (p.66).
Romans 5:20b states, "but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more" (ESV). Dane expands that thought by stating:
The guilt and shame of those in Christ is ever outstripped by his abounding grace. When we feel as if our thoughts, words, and deeds are diminishing God's grace toward us, those sins and failures are in fact causing it to surge forward all the more (p.68).
To further help us wrap our minds around such a glorious concept, Dane brings out an analogy:
...Christ being perfectly holy, knows and feels the horror and weight of sin more deeply than any of us sinful ones could...Just as the purer a heart, the more horrified at evil, so also the purer a heart, the more it is naturally drawn out to help and relieve and protect and comfort, whereas a corrupt heart sits still, indifferent. So with Christ (p.69).
Dane goes on to share a passage of Thomas Goodwin's book The Heart of Christ and summarizes it beautifully: "If you are part of Christ's own body, your sins evoke his deepest heart, his compassion and pity...He sides with you against your sin, not against you because of your sin. He hates sin. But he loves you" (p.71).
Just as a father does not abandon a son who messes up terribly, God our Father does not abandon us when we mess up terribly. Thanks be to God!
Whether you have messed up and sinned terribly, or someone else's sin has splashed on you wounding you deeply, or whether you are suffering as a result of living in a broken world, take comfort! God's mercy and kindness and love abounds! He meets you where you are and pours a never ending love and mercy into you. He sees and knows your pain, and He loves you all the more for it. Keep turning to Him as the source of your comfort!
Meditate on the truths of "Mercies Anew," a song that sits among my favorites and so fitting for all that Dane reminded me of in Gentle and Lowly:
VERSE 1
Every morning that breaks
There are mercies anew
Every breath that I take
Is your faithfulness proved
And at the end of each day
When my labors are through
I will sing of Your mercies anew
VERSE 2
When I’ve fallen and strayed
There were mercies anew
For you sought me in love
And my heart you pursued
In the face of my sin
Lord, You never withdrew
So I sing of Your mercies anew
CHORUS
And Your mercies, they will never end
For ten thousand years they’ll remain
And when this world’s beauty has passed away
Your mercies will be unchanged
VERSE 3
And when the storms swirl and rage
There are mercies anew
In affliction and pain
You will carry me through
And at the end of my days
When Your throne fills my view
I will sing of Your mercies anew
I will sing of Your mercies anew
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