Reflecting on how to live the proper Christian life can be an arduous and even dangerous task if we imagine we can figure the mystery out on our own. One thing is for certain in my mind: the heart is the true and hidden locale from which the Christian operates. Christ’s teachings often return to the heart. In the Sermon on the Mount, Christ time and time again brings to light that it is not our actions themselves that we must concern ourselves with when it comes to evaluating our character; it is the motivations of the heart. The condition of the heart is the true litmus test of the soul's relationship with God. We cannot assume that if we somehow discover our heart's true desires, then we will find that pure inner core of the self. The heart is just as diluted and diseased as the mind. However, with the atoning work of Christ and the inhabiting of the Holy Spirit, the heart may be transformed.
Therefore it is with the heart that a person must be guided, not because the heart is somehow intrinsically pure, but because it is the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. Often we allow our minds to control the heart. When the heart is calling for us to cry out to God, to become indignant before Him, our minds tell us that this is not proper and that these desires are strange. There is a reversal that needs to take place; our hearts must inform our minds.
How is this possible? Even while I write of the importance of the heart, the mind, which is forever engaged in this realm as the part of us that gathers information, conveys this message into words. My mind is forever churning while the heart speaks to me in fleeting moments, in soft whispers that I not so much hear but feel. The mind is not the enemy. Rather, it is a powerful tool, even weapon. When used without a guiding force, when left to its own devices, it becomes a source of destruction, but it is not evil in itself. The mind is not something we must discard or transcend to realize Truth. It, too, is a gift from God, a part of the human identity that we need in order to be whole. However, the mind must submit to the heart for our being to function properly. This does not mean the heart is forever engaged while the mind whispers. This would be silly, for we could accomplish very little in our day-to-day tasks.
The task of allowing the heart to lead is not so much an active attempt to force feelings out of the heart at every turn of the day, but an active submission to God. For if we are truly born again, and if the Holy Spirit lives in our hearts, then it is not so much a listening to our own heart as much as it is a listening to His Holy Spirit. To recognize this voice, we must continually learn about its source, God. Through prayer, study, and living a life called to be holy, we can know more of Him. We can find freedom in submission to Him, for once He has our hearts and our attention, He will guide us to our purpose, a life hidden in Him.
No comments:
Post a Comment