The Heart of the Matter is a Matter of the Heart

SCRIPTURE: Jeremiah 24:7

“I will give them a heart to know Me, That I am the Lord. They will be My people and I will be their God because they will return to Me with all their heart”.

During the month of February, the American Heart Association calls attention to the care of our human hearts to enhance our physical health and well-being. And rightly so. Our bodies can continue without some organs, but we cannot continue without the heart. The human heart is the distribution center that every organ is dependent upon, and one of the most important organs God placed within our bodies.

Likewise, God calls attention to our “spiritual” hearts, and the need for greater awareness and self-care of our spiritual well-being. The word heart appears over 1000 times in the NSRV Bible. You could describe the Bible as a divinely inspired, spiritual electrocardiogram, in which the spiritual heart is understood as the life-giving core of our being–the inner source of energy and direction. It is the “mission control center” that determines our desires, fires our passions, frames our beliefs, and energizes our will. That’s why Solomon instructs us, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it” (Proverbs 4:23).

God cares very much about the condition of our spiritual hearts. He knows that our spiritual health flows from the condition of our spiritual heart. He knows that a damaged or dead spiritual heart can lead to a damaged or dead spiritual life. That’s why Jeremiah warns us that we can’t trust our hearts: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (17:11).

In our Wesleyan tradition, the starting point for sanctification lies in the transformation of the heart. We are transformed as the love of God redirects our passions, restores our relationships and reshapes our lives to be more like Christ. John Wesley calls this heart transformation “Christian perfection” or “being made perfect in love”. John Wesley’s beliefs about the transformation of the heart were rooted deeply in Scripture and Christian tradition. He knew from his Alder’s Gate experience that God could take a “heart of stone” and transform it into a “heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 36:26). And he learned this from Jesus, “The good person out of the good treasure of the heart produces good, and the evil person of evil treasure produces evil, for it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45).

As Christians, we need to be aware of the condition of our spiritual hearts, because our hearts determine the direction of our lives as disciples of Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, we are often not the best judge of our character and spiritual development, and we need help. At these times, we must seek the Spiritual Cardiologist and like the psalmist you can pray: “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalms 139: 23-24). And our God, whose heart is “compassionate, merciful, and filled with unfailing love” (Psalms 103:8), will continue His transforming work in our hearts. And as our hearts and lives are being transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit, we become fruitful agents for God in His redemptive work in the world.

This February, as you celebrate Heart Health, Black History & Culture, Valentine’s Day, and other festivities, keep a pulse on the condition of your spiritual heart. Is it being led by the Spirit or by you? I believe that our gestures of love for our Valentines, our beloved community, and our physical bodies will be far more genuine and meaningful when coming from a heart that is being transformed. Remember, the heart of the matter is always a matter of the heart!

Prayer
Thank you Father for caring about the condition of my heart and the health of my spiritual life. I pray for a heart of love and compassion like yours. Like the psalmist, I cry out: “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalms 139: 23-24). I ask that you would convict my heart, and deliver me from anything in my life that is displeasing to you. Where I am weak, I pray for the transforming power of your Holy Spirit to strengthen and heal my inner being. Thank you for your grace and love towards me. In the name the Lord Jesus. Amen!
To God be the glory!
Dyanne Cunningham
Ben Hill UMC Lay Leader