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Have you ever heard anyone say: “What really matters is what is in your heart.”? The phase usually is used when our thoughts or actions fall short, but our intentions & motive was correct. It clearly is a key biblical truth. In 1 Samuel 16:7 the Scripture says, But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” But the heart is only one of the elements that Jesus tells us to use in our love of God. I had read that, sometimes, we can fall into the trap of thinking that a mind which digs deep into the truths of Scripture and Christian theology, seeking to know our Lord God Almighty, our Maker, is not compatible with a heart, will and emotion that is passionate about Christ and His kingdom. We do not want to separate heart love from head knowledge, but utilize both in our Christian walk.
Luke 12:34 “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Isn’t it true that we cannot fully love someone that we do not know? We may see what they say and do, but we need to get to know someone, before we really know them personally and truly love them for who they are inside. And we cannot fruitfully love God either if we do not know Him. Not knowledge for knowledge sake, but knowledge that produces the love that builds us up. We can have heads full of knowledge that never penetrates our hearts, but our hearts cannot fully adore the Lord unless we love Him with our minds. Sanctification is the process of maturing in Christ and growing in knowledge of the Lord through life. Worship and Praise at church, Bible Study, Devotional reading, Prayer, Mission work, Evangelism, Stewardship, pursuing Jesus as an outward expression of an inward devotion to learn from and follow the Savior to see how it fits together and informs all of life, out of pure love of God, with heart, mind & soul.
Romans 2:28-29 “For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God.”
Love
the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your
soul, and with all your mind. Know God, grow in Christ and make Him known.
In Christ, Brian
4 comments:
AMEN! Such an excellent and thought-provoking post, Brian, I can think of nothing to add. :) Thanks for sharing. Happy Sunday!
Thank you, S.I. Larri. When I read that original "heart, mind & soul" thought, a couple things came to mind for me. One, that we sometimes tend to compartmentalize that which does not need to be deconstructed. (a metaphor is Salt, which is necessary for life, but is actually made up of two poisons - sodium & chloride). Heart, mind & soul work together, but can go down wrong paths alone. Second, we need to know what we believe and why we believe it. Not for intellectual accent, but for our building our lives upon the solid foundation of faith in God & Christ, and to tell others so they may see and know also. The Gospel of Jesus is the greatest news in the world, not the greatest secret. 1 Peter 3:15-18 says "In your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. It is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit.
Thank you for coming by and reading the Blog, and your kind words. Blessings in Christ to you and yours.
That is interesting about the salt, Brian. We do need to keep everything in balance.
The funny thing about balance Ma, is know what balance is and where our balance lies. Definitely the Lord gives us a great answer on the spiritual side that carries into the physical side of our life in John 8:31-32, where Jesus says: “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” To abide in His Word, we need to read the Word of God, Study the Holt Scriptures, and know the Bible for life application and balance. Keeping "everything" in balance is a trick when someone keeps "tipping the apple cart". It's a daily exercise, for sure. Thanks Ma for the great comment.
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