Gentle and Lowly, Chapter 10 - “The Beauty of the Heart of Christ”

This reflection is by Visio Dei member Matt Barraclough.

“There is no love so great and so wonderful as that which is in the heart of Christ.”

“Whosoever loves father, or mother more than me is not worthy of me.”

 I often times find myself having a one-sided unspoken competition with my wife to see who our son desires more in any given circumstance. It’s a silly game that I play in my own head. I play this game with myself not to best my wife, but more because there is little in this life that brings me more joy to me than seeing those bright blue eyes light up at the sight of me. Of feeling the love poured out completely by a toddler that can’t even speak my name. That is truly one of God’s greatest gifts. 

And so this chapter was difficult for me to really dig into at first. In my sinful jealousy, I want to hold on to that desire my son has for me and I want to drink it all up for myself.  But…

“Whosoever loves father, or mother more than me is not worthy of me.” (Matthew 10:37)

 I am challenged in this chapter to take the love my son has for me and seek to help him understand that he should love Jesus like that. He should desire Jesus like that. Because any goodness that I have in me that my son finds so appealing is a dull reflection of the beautiful goodness that is Jesus. The love that I have for that little boy pales in comparison to the love Jesus has for him. Jonathan Edwards said “There is no love so great and so wonderful as that which is in the heart of Christ.”

 I love my son more deeply than I can explain. It is shallow in comparison to the love that Christ has for him. And the same can be said for Christ’s love for me. And that is what makes the heart of Christ so beautiful.