I started re-reading Gentle and Lowly by Dane Ortlund. My lovely friend Leslie recommended this book, or at least that’s how I remember it. It’s a book I often return to, and I even have it in audio format so I can listen to the chapters. The central theme of the book is to help us see Jesus as someone we can trust, approach, and relate to.

Chapter 11, “The Emotional Life of Christ,” reminded me that Jesus experienced a full range of emotions. As someone who is very in tune with my feelings, I don’t need a feelings chart to identify what I’m experiencing in my body and mind. Our struggle often lies in accepting our emotions as a means to gain a deeper understanding, take action, or connect with God during our prayer time.

Dane Ortlund explores the emotional life of Christ, arguing that Jesus’s feelings, while perfect and divine, are not distant or unlike ours. Ortlund specifically focuses on two primary emotions: compassion and anger, showing how they both flow from the same deep, loving heart. Jesus’s emotions are a perfect expression of his divine nature, always consistent with his love for the Father and his people. He feels in a way that is fully consistent with who he always is.

Ortlund asks, “Are you angry today?” He encourages us not to be too quick to assume that anger is sinful. Rather, he joins us in our anger and seeks to protect us. His righteous anger on our behalf, especially when we’ve been wronged or hurt, is a reflection of perfect love, free from sin. He can carry that anger and guide us toward solutions, peace, and change. His ministry focused on showing up with deep emotions, advocating for others, and speaking into the lives of those affected—not only to the ones who are hurt but also to those who have caused the hurt.

“The indignation he felt when he came upon mistreatment of others in the Gospels is that same indignation he feels now in heaven upon mistreatment of you” (Ortlund, 2020, pg. 112).

Like a cleansing breath, he shares to “release your debtor and breathe again. Let Christ’s heart for you not only wash you in his compassion but also assure you of his solidarity in rage against all that distresses you…” (pg. 112).

Dane Ortlund’s exploration of Jesus’s emotional life in Gentle and Lowly offers a profound comfort: we don’t need to suppress our feelings, even anger, to be close to Christ. Instead, we can bring them to him and find a heart that is not only gentle and lowly but also perfectly empathetic. Jesus doesn’t just listen to our pain; he feels with us and, in his righteous anger, acts on our behalf. This shows us that his heart is a safe and welcoming space, a home where our most difficult emotions can be understood and held, not judged. This deep truth invites us to an intimacy with God where our whole, messy, emotional selves are met with a perfect, steadfast love.