He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. - Mark 4:39 (NIV)

Jackson is a strong dog—large, tough, and weighing one hundred pounds! Yet even the smallest people love him.

Once, a four-year-old girl spotted Jackson across a room. At first, she was afraid. Then she shyly walked up to him and spent several minutes talking to him and petting him. She discovered he’s both gentle and powerful.

This special set of qualities—being gentle and strong—is something we find in Jesus. Little children loved Jesus: they would run up to Him, sit on His lap, and tell Him their secrets. At the same time, Jesus had real power. At His command, demons fled. Huge storms disappeared. And dead people came back to life! Wow.

If we focus only on Jesus’s power, we might see him as a superhero—Someone incredibly strong but distant (it’s hard to get to know a superhero!). Yet if we think of Him as only gentle, we might forget that Jesus is the Creator of the universe, who hung each star in the sky, placed each planet in orbit, and who made each of us.

The truth is Jesus is both of these amazing qualities. He’s strong enough for you to trust Him with your whole heart, yet humble enough to call you friend.