2. The Heart of Jesus: How He Really Feels About You. Dane Ortlund. 2024. 128 pages. [Source: Review copy] [4 stars] [christian nonfiction, devotional]
First sentence: This is a book about the heart of Jesus Christ. Who is he? Who is he really? What is most natural to him? What flows out most freely? Who is he?
The Heart of Jesus is an abridged "concise" edition of the super popular Gentle and Lowly by the same author. This one has been edited with "young readers, new Christians, and seekers" in mind.
I read Gentle and Lowly twice last year--once in November, once in December. I was conflicted about Gentle and Lowly. On the one hand, I saw a lot of truth in it. It provided a lot to think upon, plenty to 'chew the cud' about. On the other hand, there were sentences or paragraphs that if taken at face value may lead down a slippery slope to some potentially dangerous unbiblical ideas. One could always give the author the benefit of the doubt, to assume the best. One could also question the author in terms of consequences of ideas.
I wanted to read The Heart of Jesus particularly because it was concise. I found the book to remove a lot of the things that I found almost semi-problematic. I think this is because it was in the elaboration of details that my confusion began. When the book keeps to the point and on track, I found less confused.
If I had to recommend one book over the other, I would recommend this one instead.
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