If you've ever "loved and lost", you know what a broken heart feels like. We have no idea what a broken heart is, but we sure know what it feels like.
Try explaining a broken heart to a robot. Any robot except Johnny Five, that is!
Short Circuit is a great movie that demonstrates how difficult it is to translate heart issues into concrete ideas. Heart issues are uniquely human. You might say they are what make us human.
Sometimes we try to impose our heart issues onto beloved pets, but in the end, they still eat crap. Animals are instinctual not emotional thinking creatures.
God refers to our heart in many ways in the bible.
As a matter of fact, 'mind' and 'heart' are often translated from the same word and are determined by the context and are quite interchangeable.
God leaves us with the impression that our heart is our emotional center and our center of desires. In a way, our heart represents who we are.
When someone sins against you, what do you say?
"They hurt me", or, "They hurt my feelings".
Hurt what? Feelings? How do you hurt feelings?
They hurt my "heart".
Hurt my heart
We all know it. That burning feeling in your insides. It's a real pain. We could never identify where exactly it comes from, but we all know what it feels like. It's everywhere inside of us--our heart we call it. Sometimes we call it a 'gut feeling'.
"I left that church because they hurt me".
Have any of you said that? What's the typical response?
"If you left, then your faith was in people not God".
True, but the pain is still there. Whether or not the person was actually a believer is a whole other story.
When we get hurt by others we begin to build a wall so it will never happen again. Why? Because it HURTS!
A new heart
God has promise to those who believe in Him that He will give them a new heart.
"I will sprinkle clean water on you[baptize], and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit[Holy Spirit] I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone[hard heart] from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules
This prophecy from Ezekiel is huge. God foretells of His causing His people to be born again by the Spirit.
But a new heart? What is this heart?
"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite[repentant] heart, O God, you will not despise".
God gives us a new heart, but here's the catch--it is broken!
What?
Our new heart is broken.
Our old heart, or our emotional center and center of desires, was hard to the things of God.
We are a hard hearted, stiff-necked people. God needs to change that. How?
A new broken heart.
A hard heart says, "It's my way or the highway!"
A broken heart says, "Yes, master, as you wish"
Paul makes this reference:
"God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will."
Grant them repentance? God GIVES us repentance?
That's what it says.
How?
With a new heart. He "removes" the hard heart and "gives" us a new heart. A heart of flesh. A heart that is malleable. We refer to it as broken because it is no longer hard, but changeable.
When our best friend rips our heart out and steps on it, we experience a "broken heart", we say that because we 'feel' like our heart is forever changed--it is broken.
So God's gift to us is a broken heart. When you are born again and repent to God, you 'feel' the heart change. Your heart is broken and very often we end up in tears before God. I know I did. Maybe not at that exact moment, but it comes. We become 'broken hearted' over the things He is 'broken hearted' over. Sin.
This was not possible with the old heart of stone. The old heart of stone just got chipped away by intruders and became an ugly mess.
But Marc, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it"?
We know we still sin after the new heart, so some illustrations break down. It's not as clean cut as my illustration, but the point is clear. Something inside of us changes--and changes for the good.
So what of this new heart?
Here's where I'm going with this. We say we are Christians. Believers. Born again. New creatures with new hearts.
Do you know that these new hearts are capable of loving the way Jesus loved? If not, then He lied when He said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments".
Jesus fully expected obedience.
He also said, " A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another".
Do you 'love one another'?
I've talked a lot about love and hospitality in my blogs. I think? Haven't I? At least I think I did.
Question
For all of you reading this with this new heart of God within you, how do you demonstrate your love for others?
Ask yourself.
We are all different and our responses will be different.
Here's a catch though. How well can you love someone if you don't know them?
You can, but it's different isn't it? You can share the gospel with someone you don't know--the gospel is the ultimate love, but we are called to love completely. To even love our enemies!
Challenge
For those of you who live in proximity to me, have you pursued loving me within the last year?
Notice I said "pursued". I don't mean you just chatted with me somewhere. I'm talking, "pursued".
Actually sought out ways to know me and actively love me?
I am making this specific so you will think specific. This isn't a rhetorical question.
How about those of you living around the world? In this last year have you pursued someone besides your self to love them?
I know you have pursued someone, but I'm pretty sure nobody has "pursued" me.
I would know. Wouldn't I?
We know when someone is pursuing us. It's like telling the pursuing cop that you didn't know he was behind you. He gives you the "whatever" look.
We know when someone is pursuing us. We may run, but we run because we know someone is there.
I don't mean, "do it", as in pursue me, but pursue someone in love.
We all love the good story about how we helped someone by 'chance'. "God brought someone into my path today and I had the opportunity to love them".
Those are great, but most love stories don't just happen. They require constant loving pursuit.
Some like to describe God as a "God who pursues us". Think Jonah. Do you think this is true?
If so, then to obey Christ, we should be pursuing others.
Whether we've been believers for 5 minutes or 50 years, we should still be pursuing others in order to love them.
Who are you pursuing? Take that new heart--full of God's love and pursue someone.
Consider it carefully--make a list--follow through.
"And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works".
Song: The most beautiful song ever made more beautiful
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