Welcome to this week’s edition of Five Minute Friday! This a particularly special week, as Christians around the world recognize Good Friday and remember the incredible sacrifice that our Lord Jesus Christ made for us on the cross.
If you’re new to Five Minute Friday, click here to learn more about the link-up and how it works.
Also: Be sure to click here to join the FMF email list to get the latest news about upcoming resources and opportunities for writers.
This week’s Five Minute Friday writing prompt is: GENTLE
GO.
In the weeks leading up to Christmas last year, I kept hearing people recommend the book Gentle and Lowly by Dane Ortlund. People praised it so highly, they even claimed it was elevated to a spot among the top three books they had ever read.
I decided to give in to the hype and see what all the fuss was about.
Though I have only read the first couple of chapters so far, I can already see why people love the book so much. It is based on the passage from Matthew 11:28-30, where Jesus says:
“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.”
Ortlund writes, “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 ‘austere and demanding in heart.’ We are not told that he is ‘exalted and dignified 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.'”
He goes on:
“Meek. Humble. Gentle. Jesus is not trigger-happy. Not harsh, reactionary, easily exasperated. He is the most understanding person in the universe. The posture most natural to him is not a pointed finger but open arms.”
These two excerpts really convicted me. I say I am a follower of Christ and I say I want to be like Him, but I fall woefully short of any and all of the descriptions of Christ mentioned above. My natural reaction to this realization is to want to try harder and strive to be better. But He does not require us to strive more or try harder. Instead, in His very nature, He invites those who labor and are heavy laden to come to Him to find their rest.
STOP.
As we enter this Easter weekend, may we meditate on the wonder of the gentle and lowly One who sacrificed all so we could live.
+++
Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers
Affiliate links used above
Have a blessed Easter weekend!
Join the link-up by adding your own five-minute freewrite below, then visit your link-up neighbor to read their post and leave an encouraging comment:
He said, Do not go gentle
into that good night;
in fear of transcendental,
I thought Dylan Thomas right,
but now the game is altered;
I’ve seen beyond the veil.
My prideful heart has faltered
for I have heard the tale
told by God’s Son in kindly words
as He took my hand,
and with His other pointed towards
that vast and perfect land
in which no ‘good night’ ever falls,
where Love is not constrained by walls.
Oh my gosh. This book sounds AMAZING! What a beautiful (and true!) picture of who Christ really is–and who we’re called to be. Adding it to my TBR list!
That sounds like a lovely book. How has the devil tricked us into thinking we need to be Jesus’ pointy finger instead of his gentle and lowly servants?
I couldn’t figure why “gentle” on this holy day….but now I do!
I have added the book to my ever-growing list of “want to read” books.
I am intrigued by what you shared today.