{"id":298271,"date":"2024-09-18T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-09-18T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/how-to-embrace-jesus-love-for-you-dane-ortlund\/"},"modified":"2025-06-10T14:43:42","modified_gmt":"2025-06-10T18:43:42","slug":"how-to-embrace-jesus-love-for-you-dane-ortlund","status":"publish","type":"podcast","link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/how-to-embrace-jesus-love-for-you-dane-ortlund\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Embrace Jesus&#8217; Love for You: Dane Ortlund"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>What does the Bible say about Jesus&#8217; feelings and posture toward us? Learn the importance of diving into Scriptures day by day to remember Jesus&#8217; love for you as pastor and author, Dane Ortlund, joins Dave and Ann Wilson.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What does the Bible say about Jesus&#8217; feelings and posture toward us? Dane Ortlund discusses diving into Scripture daily to remember Jesus&#8217; love for you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":47000,"featured_media":280865,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","inline_featured_image":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","episode_type":"audio","audio_file":"https:\/\/traffic.omny.fm\/d\/clips\/cbd16f10-ac60-4f09-b4df-b15400ce35aa\/33aaac7e-3581-4e21-a3df-b154011ba58c\/1d451ed9-f8ab-49ec-bf6f-b1dc01334a0a\/audio.mp3","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"00:26:39","filesize":"24.43M","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"2024-09-18 08:00:00","explicit":"","block":""},"categories":[2822,2866],"tags":[],"podcast_series":[3636],"cwp_profile":[3628],"series":[2101],"class_list":["post-298271","podcast","type-podcast","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-growing-in-your-faith","category-spiritual-disciplines-essentials-faith","podcast_series-the-heart-of-jesus-how-he-really-feels-about-you-dane-ortlund","cwp_profile-dane-ortlund","series-familylife-today"],"acf":[],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2024\/06\/image-scaled.jpg?w=1024","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2023\/02\/image-scaled.jpg","download_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast-download\/298271\/how-to-embrace-jesus-love-for-you-dane-ortlund","player_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast-player\/298271\/how-to-embrace-jesus-love-for-you-dane-ortlund","audio_player":null,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"light","subscribeUrls":{"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/familylife-today\/id212174303?mt=2&app=podcast","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/0j5UaKdQOHQCuo1bt0ebEm","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"},"youtube":{"key":"youtube","url":"","label":"YouTube","class":"youtube","icon":"youtube.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/feed\/podcast\/familylife-today","embedCode":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"68B19wweMq\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/how-to-embrace-jesus-love-for-you-dane-ortlund\/\">How to Embrace Jesus&#8217; Love for You: Dane Ortlund<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/how-to-embrace-jesus-love-for-you-dane-ortlund\/embed\/#?secret=68B19wweMq\" width=\"500\" height=\"350\" title=\"&#8220;How to Embrace Jesus&#8217; Love for You: Dane Ortlund&#8221; &#8212; FamilyLife\u00ae - A Cru Ministry\" data-secret=\"68B19wweMq\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script>\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\/\/# sourceURL=https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-includes\/js\/wp-embed.min.js\n<\/script>\n"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2024\/06\/image-scaled.jpg",1024,1024,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Margaret","author_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/author\/margaret-coylefamilylife-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"What does the Bible say about Jesus' feelings and posture toward us? Dane Ortlund discusses diving into Scripture daily to remember Jesus' love for you.","meta_box":{"show_notes":"<ul>\n<li>Connect with Dane Ortlund and catch more of their thoughts at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.daneortlund.com\/\">daneortlund.com<\/a>, or on <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/daneortlund\">X<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>You can get your copy of Dane's newest book, \"<a href=\"https:\/\/shop.familylife.com\/product\/the-heart-of-jesus-how-he-really-feels-about-us\">The Heart of Jesus: How He Really Feels About You<\/a>,\" in our shop.<\/li>\n<li>Also check out Dane's other book mentioned in the program, <a href=\"https:\/\/shop.familylife.com\/product\/gentle-and-lowly-the-heart-of-christ-for-sinners-and-sufferers\/\">Gentle and Lowly<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Find more FamilyLife Today episodes featuring Dane Ortlund <a href=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/guest\/dane-ortlund\/\">here<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Join us aboard the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lovelikeyoumeanitcruise.com\/\">Love Like You Mean It Marriage Cruise<\/a> from February 8-15 for an exclusive journey dedicated to strengthening your marriage.<\/li>\n<li>Find resources from this podcast at <a href=\"https:\/\/shop.familylife.com\/product-category\/radio-resources\/\">shop.familylife.com<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/shop.familylife.com\/product-category\/past-radio-resources\/\">See resources from our past podcasts.<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Find more content and resources on the <a href=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/app\/\">FamilyLife's app<\/a>!<\/li>\n<li>Help others find FamilyLife. Leave a review on <a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/familylife-today\/id212174303\">Apple Podcast<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/0j5UaKdQOHQCuo1bt0ebEm?si=d6dfa8d2415f4750\">Spotify<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Check out all the FamilyLife's podcasts on the <a href=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/familylife-podcast-network\/\">FamilyLife Podcast Network<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","transcript_url":"https:\/\/transcript.familylife.com\/fl2024-09-18.pdf","transcript_content":"<p>FamilyLife Today\u00ae National Radio Version (time edited) Transcript<\/p>\n<p>References to conferences, resources, or other special promotions may be obsolete.<\/p>\n<p>How to Embrace Jesus\u2019 Love for You<\/p>\n<p>Guest:Dane Ortlund<\/p>\n<p>From the series:The Heart of Jesus: How He Really Feels about You (Day 2 of 3)<\/p>\n<p>Air date:September 18, 2024<\/p>\n<p>Dane: Jesus is flipping tables in the temple. The religious PhD\u2019s are over here indignant, it says, shaking their fists at Him, and the kids get it. The kids are singing a worship song. So, time and again, apparently, there\u2019s something very open-hearted and able to hear what Jesus is like and the gospel that kids have.<\/p>\n<p>Shelby: Welcome to FamilyLife Today, where we want to help you pursue the relationships that matter most. I\u2019m Shelby Abbott, and your hosts are Dave and Ann Wilson. You can find us at FamilyLifeToday.com.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: This is FamilyLife Today!<\/p>\n<p>Dave: So, I\u2019ve said here before about the picture that hung over my fireplace in my childhood home. It was the picture of Jesus, and His look was somewhat stern and disappointed. I know that in my teenage years of making bad decisions\u2014and I know they\u2019re bad decisions; I\u2019ve been raised better than this\u2014and I\u2019d walk through the family room.<\/p>\n<p>Now I smile, because it was like His eyes just followed me, like \u201cI\u2019m disappointed in you.\u201d That\u2019s what I felt, so I would sort of run through that room, because I felt, \u201cThat\u2019s the heart of Jesus.\u201d Today we\u2019re going to talk about the heart of Jesus, because that was not how He was looking at me, even though I think I and many people have felt that.<\/p>\n<p>Dane: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: So, we have the heart of Jesus man himself, Dane Ortlund. [Laughter]<\/p>\n<p>Dane: Wow.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: How\u2019s that for an intro?<\/p>\n<p>Dane: Interesting wording there, Dave. [Laughter]<\/p>\n<p>Dave: It\u2019s not the \u2013 but you wrote the book, I believe. Gentle and Lowly, and now we\u2019re talking about sort of a condensed version for younger generations, The Heart of Jesus: How He Really Feels about You. That really did capture for a whole generation of us a fresh biblical\u2014it\u2019s always been there; it\u2019s all over the Bible but somehow, we sort of missed it\u2014view of Who the heart of God really is.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Isn\u2019t it fun to have Dane back on?<\/p>\n<p>Dave: Oh, yes. It\u2019s awesome.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Dane Ortlund, pastor, author, father, husband. How many years have you guys been married now?<\/p>\n<p>Dane: Twenty-three. Twenty-three.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Twenty-three years of marriage.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: And you\u2019re about to launch your first son off to college.<\/p>\n<p>Dane: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: How does that feel?<\/p>\n<p>Dane: Well, we love him with all our heart, and the home is going to feel very different without 20 percent of the offspring around. But we\u2019re proud of him and he\u2019s going to do great in life.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: That\u2019s cool. Okay, Dave, I\u2019m going to ask you, if you had to say right now, how do you picture Jesus and his view of you, because you just shared what you used to think He thought of you. What would you say now?<\/p>\n<p>Dave: It\u2019s been a journey over 40 years, and the image that comes to me is the Prodigal\u2019s father. He\u2019s running; He\u2019s running to me in my sin, running to me in my weakness. He loves me. He picked up His robe and He\u2019s running. I think that was the purpose Jesus told the story. He\u2019s sitting with tax collectors. [People were] saying, \u201cI can\u2019t believe you\u2019re sitting with these tax collectors.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I think He was thinking\u2014am I right, Dane? I\u2019ve preached this; I\u2019m sure you have. It was like, \u201cI don\u2019t think you guys understand Who I am and Who my Father is. Let me tell you three stories\u2014boom, boom, boom\u2014and they all sort of nailed the same thing: \u201cThis is the heart of God, and you\u2019ve missed that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dane: Right, right.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: I think it\u2019s what your book has helped us do. We\u2019ve missed how He described Himself as gentle and tender and accessible. Lowly.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: You talk about Jesus\u2019 heart in action, and you go through some Scripture.<\/p>\n<p>Dane: Yes, Right.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Let\u2019s talk about that, because I feel it would be a great question to ask at your dinner table too.<\/p>\n<p>Dane: It would.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: How do you think Jesus sees you?<\/p>\n<p>Dane: It really is a good question. I love your answer, Dave. I\u2019m not there, yet, because tomorrow morning I will slide into consciousness, and what I will believe at least instinctually is the picture hanging over your mantle growing up.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Really? Instinctually.<\/p>\n<p>Dane: This is why I have to have devotions each morning and not do it at the end of the day but start my day by becoming a Christian all over again.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Yes!<\/p>\n<p>Dane: I have to figure out, \u201cOh, hang on! Luke 15? Oh, God is like that! Thank you, Dane. Thank You, Lord! Thank you, Bible!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dave: That\u2019s good. Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Dane: Because it takes me a good night\u2019s sleep and nothing more, kind of functionally, to become a pretty good atheist, or not an atheist, but a gospel stiff-armer, and I need to know, \u201cOh, Luke 15 is in the Bible after all, which is the message of the whole Scripture, really, that He\u2019s a non-reluctant rescuer,\u201d because I deeply believe that He\u2019s like me, namely, seeing someone in need, I might rescue, I might help annoyedly, reluctantly, irritatingly. [ Laughter]<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have my day to deal with here. I have my schedule and my agenda,\u201d and you just reminded us, Dave, Jesus ain\u2019t like that.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Dane: So, I have to get up with some strong coffee and the Bible\u2014reverse order in terms of importance\u2014[Laughter] and in a sense become a Christian all over again.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: I see the same thing. The reason I go through the Bible every year isn\u2019t because I\u2019m so spiritual and holy. It\u2019s because I\u2019m so desperate and in need of Him.<\/p>\n<p>Dane: Right. It\u2019s our weakness.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Yes, to remind myself, \u201cOh, this is Who He is. Oh, this is what He thinks of me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dane: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: So, if you\u2019re not in your Word, if you\u2019re not reading, He\u2019s wooing you. It gives you a better indication of how much He loves you.<\/p>\n<p>Dane: Amen. I was on the plane coming up this morning, reading Matthew\u2019s Gospel where He raises Jairus\u2019 daughter. Did you ever notice the text says that Jesus doesn\u2019t go in and from across the room says what He at times says to others, \u201cRise and walk.\u201d The text says He goes over, and He took her by the hand. Jairus\u2019 daughter woke up out of death to the experience of Jesus Christ holding her hand and picking her up out of her bed.<\/p>\n<p>He was a carpenter, so He was probably pretty, as my eight-year-old Ben would say, \u201cjacked.\u201d [Laughter] So he ruggedly and strongly, firmly, tenderly, helped her up. Well, I\u2019m 45 and I\u2019ve been walking with Christ, reading the Bible for some decades now. I don\u2019t know if I ever really noticed that; the tenderness of the touch of lifting her up by the hand.<\/p>\n<p>One reason I\u2019m excited about younger people hearing this message is they need it just as much as adults. We often articulate, and it\u2019s right and healthy to do so, the difference between kids and adults, and what they need differently than adults and so on. This is common, the view that He loves me disappointingly. That is so way down deep in all of us. I believe that one manifestation of our fallen nature is believing that, resisting what Jesus is actually like in His heart.<\/p>\n<p>So why would we wait till our kids are 17, and \u201cOh, they\u2019re leaving the house in a year. Oh, let me tell you what Jesus is really like before you leave.\u201d Why not help them in what we say and how we embrace them physically, and God helping us, making lots of mistakes and apologizing for them along the way, help them see what Jesus is really like.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: This is so true.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: That very fact of them learning this at a young age as a dad and a mom\u2014that\u2019s our job.<\/p>\n<p>Dane: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: I think so often we fail because we don\u2019t understand, and we misrepresent. As I think about my mom and dad, I thought God was sort of like my dad. He\u2019s disappointed; he\u2019s walking out. I\u2019m not saying every time that your father image becomes your Holy Father image, but there\u2019s a deep correlation, right?<\/p>\n<p>Dane: For sure, yes. Our parents deeply shape.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: And now we\u2019re the parents.<\/p>\n<p>Dane: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: I was thinking, I was just with two of our grandkids last week, a five- and a three-year-old. We were at Walmart, and they\u2019re watching us. They\u2019re watching how we interact with people, and so the cashier who\u2019s checking us out, super-talkative, really nice, and we were talking about \u201cLet\u2019s go get some pizza.\u201d And she was awesome.<\/p>\n<p>She said, \u201cI\u2019d like to get some pizza right now! I\u2019d like to get some fried chicken right now, and I\u2019d like to get some ice cream all day long.\u201d These grandkids were thinking, \u201cThis lady\u2019s amazing!\u201d and we\u2019re all like, \u201cYes, us do! We want to do that.\u201d So, we get done with our shopping, and I got down to talk to them. I said, \u201cWhat if we blessed her today, and we went and we get her some fried chicken?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>So, these guys were so excited, because I think as parents, we allow our kids and our grandkids to see people the way we do.<\/p>\n<p>Dane: Right.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: We can either be irritated with them, or we can put our\u2014as our one son says\u2014our God goggles on and see people the way Jesus does. So, I\u2019m telling you, these kids were geeked out of their minds as we handed this lady her wings. They kept saying, \u201cWhat do you think she\u2019s going to say? What do you think she\u2019s going to say?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dane: I love that.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: She said, \u201cThank you! Thank you! I can\u2019t believe you went and got me chicken! Thank you!\u201d And I asked them, \u201cBryce, how many times did she say, \u2018Thank you?\u2019\u201d He said, \u201cShe said it four times!\u201d [Laughter] And later we prayed for that woman on the way home, like \u201cOh, Lord, we pray that she would just know how much You love her.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Let me just say this: It\u2019s not out of \u201cI\u2019m going to conjure this up today.\u201d This comes out of sitting with Jesus and asking Him, \u201cLord, I\u2019m so self-centered that I\u2019m only seeing what\u2019s going on in my life. Help me, Jesus, to have Your eyes and Your ears and Your mouth to love people the way You would.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dave: Yes, and the tension is, Dane, as I hear that story, in the same moment I was thinking about a week earlier we were doing a marriage conference in Indianapolis. We went out to dinner, and we were walking back and there was a homeless guy sitting on the sidewalk. Ann pulls a $20 out of her wallet and hands him $20. I would love to tell you I had the heart of God in that moment. [Laughter] \u201cLet\u2019s help this guy out.\u201d I looked at her like, \u201cYou couldn\u2019t give him a one or a five? You gave him a $20!\u201d [Laughter]<\/p>\n<p>Dane: You tightwad, Dave.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Our listeners are going to think, \u201cDave, you shared this story three times!\u201d That\u2019s how mad he was at me.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: I think you understand. That\u2019s the tension in our soul. We have both sides of us.<\/p>\n<p>Dane: Guys, it\u2019s messy. It\u2019s messy. [Laughter] We\u2019re up and down. We don\u2019t want to communicate to anyone listening that this is a neat and tidy formula that you download, and then there you have\u2014<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Dane: Read Matthew 11. There you go. Goodbye. You\u2019re now going to\u2014It\u2019s up and down.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Dane: It\u2019s up and down.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Take us back into the Scriptures, but even you talking about Jesus healing Jairus\u2019 daughter, when you talk about Jesus\u2019 heart and His action, what other things come to your mind?<\/p>\n<p>Dane: As I mentioned, I was in the plane in Matthew\u2019s Gospel. I just did a very quick fly-through of Matthew\u2019s Gospel, and what I was wondering about was \u201cWhere do the kids show up?\u201d And that was where I noticed Jairus\u2019 daughter.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Oh.<\/p>\n<p>Dane: I noticed a few other things. The feeding of the 5000 and then the 4000\u2014you know He does both.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Dane: The text says not that Jesus multiplied the fish and the loaves and told his disciples, \u201cMake sure that you only make enough for the adults.\u201d It says the women and the children\u2014in both accounts\u2014the women and the children also ate and were satisfied. This is a profuse feast, and it wasn\u2019t like, \u201cAs long as you\u2019re at least 18.\u201d The three-year-olds were included.<\/p>\n<p>He said, \u201cTurn and become like a little child.\u201d Exhibit A in what it is to be a part of the Kingdom of God: Give me a five-year-old. \u201cIf any of you misleads or mistreats one of these little ones, it\u2019s better that someone wrap a rope around your neck with a huge 200 pound weight, take you to the bridge, and drop you over in the water. That\u2019s a better fate for you, than if you mistreat the kids.<\/p>\n<p>Here was a new one. When in Matthew 21\u2014here\u2019s something I never noticed. I said, \u201cStace, look at this. Jesus entered the temple, drove out all who sold and bought in the temple. This is Matthew 21:12. \u201cAnd He overturned the tables of the moneychangers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. The blind and the lame came to Him in the temple. He healed them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Now look: \u201cBut when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that He did and the children crying out in the temple, \u2018Hosanna to the Son of David,\u2019 the chief priests and the scribes were indignant.\u201d Now hang on. Jesus is flipping tables in the temple and apparently, He\u2019s operating in such a way that the blind and the lame are like, \u201cI can\u2019t see, I can\u2019t walk, but He\u2019s flipping tables. I want to go hang out with that guy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>So, they go up to Him. The religious PhDs are over here upset, indignant, it says, just shaking their fists at Him and the kids get it. The kids are singing a worship song to Jesus while the guys with all the Bible degrees are not getting it. So, time and again, apparently, there\u2019s something very open-hearted and guileless and able to hear what Jesus is like and the gospel that kids have.<\/p>\n<p>That was one reason I\u2019m fired up about trying to get this message of Christ\u2019s heart to a younger generation. In our parenting, let\u2019s not hold back. Let\u2019s just flood them, irrigate their ears with this message of what He is like, because that\u2019s what Jesus was like.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Have you ever noticed that in that Scripture?<\/p>\n<p>Dave: No.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: I haven\u2019t either.<\/p>\n<p>Dane: I had not either until a few hours ago.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: I\u2019ve read that so many times.<\/p>\n<p>Dane: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: What is the journey that happens from childhood to adulthood where we lose that? What do you think will happen?<\/p>\n<p>Dane: That\u2019s a great question. You two probably could answer that better, but we get cynical. We suffer and therefore we put up various defense mechanisms because we don\u2019t want to hurt again, so we hold people at arm\u2019s length. We\u2019re trying to guard our heart from getting hurt, so we might guard it from getting hurt again, but that also, at the same time, closes it off to receive healthy love, and that would be one.<\/p>\n<p>I do think that as we go through life, I can only look at life through my own eyes, but I think I see this in other Christians, too. We grow in many ways. We grow in maturity and wisdom and knowledge, and I feel my sins more acutely now at 45 than I did at 25.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Dane: But we\u2019re going through life, and it\u2019s not like when you become a Christian you get your act together. We need the gospel every day.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: I think, too, what happens is we all, every single person on the planet, go through disappointment and heartache.<\/p>\n<p>Dane: Yes, right.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Every person, and I have found the times that I have been so heartbroken, I have that choice of drawing toward Jesus, because He\u2019s already drawing toward me.<\/p>\n<p>Dane: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Or I can turn and walk away or pull away. I love your picture of Jesus, as you just said, that He\u2019s coming toward me all the time; of the Prodigal father; He\u2019s running toward me. So we think and we feel like, \u201cHe\u2019s abandoned me; He\u2019s gone, He\u2019s not with us,\u201d when in truth\u2014and that\u2019s why we have to be in the Word, because the Scripture tells us \u201cHe\u2019s for us,\u201d \u201cHe\u2019s running toward us,\u201d He\u2019s fighting for us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s why I need the Word, because it would be easy to think \u201cHe\u2019s forgotten me.\u201d I talk to so many people who say, \u201cHe\u2019s forgotten me,\u201d \u201cHe doesn\u2019t answer my prayers,\u201d \u201cHe never talks to me,\u201d \u201cI see nothing.\u201d I say, \u201cHe loves you,\u201d but they just aren\u2019t in it.<\/p>\n<p>Dane: Yes. We think we have to work so hard to earn and get His help.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Dane: But He is bursting to help us if we will allow Him to. In Revelation 3, Jesus, the Risen Christ, describes a church, and the words that He uses to describe them are the words that many of us, many weeks walk into church feeling, namely \u201cWretched, pitiable, poor, blind. Wretched, pitiable, poor, blind.\u201d [Revelation 3:17] Yep! Four for four. That\u2019s how I tend to wake up on Sunday morning to go to church.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: And you\u2019re the pastor!<\/p>\n<p>Dane: And I\u2019m the pastor! [Laughter] What is Jesus like to that kind of person? We don\u2019t have to wonder. He says, \u201cBehold,\u201d to the same people two verses later, \u201cI\u2019m standing at the door and I\u2019m knocking on the door.\u201d As you just said, Ann, \u201cIf you\u2019ll let me in,\u201d Jesus says to wretched, pitiable, poor, blind people, \u201cMay I please come eat lunch with you?\u201d [Revelation 3:20]<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBehold, I stand at the door and knock.\u201d We spiritualize this. \u201cBehold I stand at the door and knock.\u201d We put it on plates and mugs. He said, \u201cI want to come have fellowship with you. I want to hang with you. I want to be with you. Love one another.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBehold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.\u201d He didn\u2019t say that to the A-minus or better Christians. He said it to wretched, pitiable, poor, blind.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: Yes, and the beauty of that as we all know is He made the walk to our door.<\/p>\n<p>Dane: Yes, right.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: It isn\u2019t \u201cI\u2019m over here. I\u2019m righteous; you\u2019re pitiable. Come over; when you\u2019re ready to clean it up, here I am.\u201d No. He\u2019s coming down the street to our door. I know what happens\u2014when He knocks, we hide. [Laughter]<\/p>\n<p>Dane: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: I hide. I think, \u201cI\u2019m too dirty for You to even come in here. I\u2019m not going to let You in.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dane: We do.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: \u201cAnd I know You don\u2019t want to come in and have a meal with me. You want to come in and drag me out and clean me up.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dane: \u201cGive me a pep talk.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dave: Yes. But to think that He wants to have intimate fellowship in my place\u2014<\/p>\n<p>Dane: Amen.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: \u2014where the wretched life I live is all around is a picture of God we need.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: To Zacheus, and the tax collectors, Matthew, He says, \u201cI\u2019m coming to your house tonight.\u201d It\u2019s exactly what you\u2019re saying. \u201cI\u2019m coming to your house.\u201d That had to be the most mind-blowing thing, not only for Matthew or Zacheus, but for anyone around them.<\/p>\n<p>Dane: I love that.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Like, \u201cWhat in the world?!?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dane: Yes, \u201cDon\u2019t you know who this guy is?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Yes. It\u2019s like going to the crack house for dinner.<\/p>\n<p>Dane: Right.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: \u201cI\u2019m coming to your house, crack dealer.\u201d He\u2019d think \u201cWhat?!?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dane: \u201cI\u2019m going through the drive-through, Mafia. Whadda ya want? \u201c[Laughter] \u201cWe\u2019re going to get some lunch together.\u201d Hey, Dave. You just said, \u201cDirty. We feel dirty.\u201d Just to add a footnote to that, I am very fired up right now about the biblical truth that we are not only justified, legally acquitted, righteous, but we are also clean. The word the Bible uses is \u201csaints.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re preaching through Ephesians right now. I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever grappled with this, \u201cTo the saints. To the cleansed ones, the clean ones.\u201d One of the fun phenomena going on in our church right now is we\u2019re calling one another, \u201cSaint Dave,\u201d \u201cSaint Ann,\u201d [Laughter] because we deeply do not believe that that is who I am. \u201cI am dirty; I am defiled.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Dane: Oh, no. The whole church at Ephesus, the worst Christian at Ephesus was as much a saint as the Apostle Paul and as the best Christian, objectively. Oh, we go up and down in our saintliness; we do not go up and down in our sainthood.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Good.<\/p>\n<p>Dane: We are saints. We may betray it by the way we act, or we might reflect it by the way we act, but we can never lose it. We are saints. Live out of that identity.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: That\u2019s good.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: I was just thinking this could be one way to wrap this thought: There is a woman that we know in our church in Detroit. For years she drives the streets of Detroit, and she helps the prostitutes and the drug dealers, and she brings supplies to them. She prays for them. When they see her, man, they run to her van.<\/p>\n<p>Dane: Wow.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Because they\u2019ll pray.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: They don\u2019t run away; they run to the prayer van.<\/p>\n<p>Dane: That\u2019s the heart of Jesus.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: That\u2019s the heart of God.<\/p>\n<p>Dane: Yes, it is.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: People say, \u201cYou go down there and love those people?\u201d She says, \u201cYes, I love them.\u201d And many of them come to Jesus because they feel seen for the first time, somebody that loves them. It\u2019s sort of like the Jesus van coming into the dirty parts of the town where a lot of the saints don\u2019t want to go.<\/p>\n<p>Dane: She knows what Jesus is really like.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Yes, and sometimes that\u2019s easier than loving the person in the carpool line that\u2019s driving us crazy, or their child is not being nice to our child.<\/p>\n<p>Dane: True. Right.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: And that love of Jesus permeates everything.<\/p>\n<p>Shelby: How does the love you have for Jesus spill over into your love for other people, even the difficult people to love, not just the easy ones? This is super-convicting, and it makes me want to cry out to God for His power to help me love others in ways that I know are just simply impossible for me to do. With man it might be impossible. With God, however, all things are possible. I love that reminder.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m Shelby Abbott and you\u2019ve been listening to Dave and Ann Wilson with Dane Ortlund on FamilyLife Today. Dane has written a book called The Heart of Jesus: How He Really Feels about You. This book is super-helpful to help you really encounter the heart of Jesus as described in Matthew 11. It really highlights God\u2019s deep love and longing for His people to find rest in Him.<\/p>\n<p>You can get your copy right now by going online to FamilyLifeToday.com, or you can feel free to give us a call at 800-358-6329 to request your copy. Again, that number is 800 - \u201cF\u201d as in family, \u201cL\u201d as in life, and then the word \u201cTODAY.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It might seem like it\u2019s really far away, but February is just around the corner. You\u2019re thinking, \u201cFebruary? That\u2019s what? We haven\u2019t even hit the holidays yet.\u201d Well, it will be here soon, and the reason I\u2019m mentioning it is because from February 8 to 15 we\u2019re setting sail on the Love Like You Mean It\u00ae marriage cruise. This is the unique cruise experience that you probably always wanted, but didn\u2019t even know about. It offers a full ship experience tailored for married couples seeking to rejuvenate their relationship.<\/p>\n<p>You can secure your spot right now by going online to FamilyLifeToday.com and clicking on the Love Like You Mean It marriage cruise banner. When you do, you\u2019re really going to treat yourself to a week dedicated to celebrating your love with your spouse and strengthening your relationship with God. Again, you can head over to FamilyLifeToday.com and click on the Love Like You Mean It marriage cruise banner.<\/p>\n<p>Now, tomorrow Dane Ortlund is here with us again, to talk about how personal encounters with Jesus transform our leadership and our family lives. That\u2019s coming up tomorrow. We hope you\u2019ll join us.<\/p>\n<p>On behalf of Dave and Ann Wilson, I\u2019m Shelby Abbott. We will see you back next time for another edition of FamilyLife Today.<\/p>\n<p>FamilyLife Today is a donor-supported production of FamilyLife\u00ae, a Cru\u00ae Ministry.<\/p>\n<p>Helping you pursue the relationships that matter most.<\/p>\n<p>We are so happy to provide these transcripts to you. However, there is a cost to produce them for our website. If you\u2019ve benefited from the broadcast transcripts, would you consider donating today to help defray the costs? Copyright \u00a9 2024 FamilyLife. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n<p>www.FamilyLife<\/p>\n","theme_header_position":"Sticky","post_header_is_sticky":"default","is_header_overlay":"0"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/podcast\/298271","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/podcast"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/podcast"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/47000"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=298271"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/280865"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=298271"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=298271"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=298271"},{"taxonomy":"podcast_series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/podcast_series?post=298271"},{"taxonomy":"cwp_profile","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cwp_profile?post=298271"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=298271"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}