John Piper once wrote, “Books don’t change people, paragraphs do—sometimes sentences.” But every now and then, a book comes along that has such a dramatic impact that you don’t want to stop reading it.

Dane Ortlund has written one such book. Gentle and Lowly: Christ’s Heart for Sinners and Sufferers is a work that you won’t want to stop reading, yet at the same time requires slow and thoughtful meditation. While many books have an immediate impact, Gentle and Lowly may have an effect upon its reader for years to come.

What makes this book so profound is how Ortlund captures the heart of Christ. Picking up his queue from Augustine, Ortlund reflects on Matthew 11:29: “Come to me, all who are weary and heavy-burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, for I am gentle and lowly in heart.”

But why should we reflect upon the gentle and lowly heart of Christ?