When writers and poets want
to capture our thoughts and emotions, what symbol do they usually make use
of? The heart. Just as the human heart is the center of our
circulatory system - and thus the most basic entity of our lives, it has been
used to describe the basic or foundational characteristics of certain things.
In the Bible, for example,
the heart depicts the seat of emotions.
Therefore, we are told that we are to love God from our hearts
(Deuteronomy 6:5).
Jesus, Himself, used the
heart to explain the source of man’s true thoughts and beliefs (Matthew 12:34;
15:19). He also used the heart to depict
a person’s motivation to develop moral character (Luke 12:34).
Paul used the heart to
bolster courage and build hope in his fellow Christians (2 Corinthians 4:16). He also depicted generosity as giving from
the heart (2
Corinthians 9:7).
God told Samuel to look at
the heart in order to determine a man’s desire to fulfill his God-given purpose
(1 Samuel 16:7). And the list could go
on and on.
What we, as Christians, need
to take to “heart” is the importance of applying all of these concepts
attributed to the heart of God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit to our own
lives. Because, after all is said and
done, the only thing that will matter is what is in and on our hearts. And make no mistake, God knows that perfectly
(Hebrews 4:12).
Let us, therefore, work at
changing our hearts from being selfish and greedy and train ourselves to have a
pure heart like Jesus’. Let us get rid
of those things that stress our hearts and obtain a peaceful heart like
His. Let us develop hearts that are
focused on Him and get rid of the things that distract our hearts from
God. And, most of all, let us work at
centering our hearts on following The Spirit rather than being bound by earthly
endeavors that never satisfy.
If we are going to give
others a proper view of Jesus through our own lives, our hearts must match His.
Doug
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