A Heart Right With God

           

          We are a culture that uses the word ‘love’ every day.  A person may say, “I love ice cream,” or “I love these shoes!”  Still someone else may say, “I love you,” and it means, as a sister or brother--- or as another Believer.  There is also the love that is shared between a husband and wife and the love that happens between a parent and a child.

            Valentine’s Day is Friday and it’s considered the day of love.  Valentine’s, candy, flowers and other gifts are exchanged between a large range of friends and family, whether it’s between a classroom of children or husband and wife. 

            We talk about loving someone with our whole heart.  The Bible talks about loving God with your heart, soul, mind and strength.  So, where does your love come from?  Is it different in each of these areas?  Depending on who you talk with, there is apparently, a vast difference!

            When we define the soul, we are talking about our core identity, personality, even your “essence.”  It describes those ‘things’ that shape the product of your life including, but hardly limited to, those things you value and treasure, what and who you admire, how you spend your time and money and even how you make decisions.

            When we talk about our heart, it’s obviously not our physical heart since it is an organ of the body that pumps blood, but our emotional heart contains so much more of what we call ‘love.’  This is the control center, if you will, of where our emotions reside.  We find empathy, sadness, joy, pain and hurt, loss and more.  Some might say I’m describing the ‘gut’ which may be true.  This is why, however, when we say ‘we love,’ ----we love with our ‘heart.’  It can be filled to overflowing or empty, dry and grieving.

            I think it’s interesting to note that the Egyptians, when mummifying their dead, removed every organ except the heart!  They believed this organ needed to remain with the body, if the person was going to travel into and through eternity.

            What’s even more interesting is knowing that in order to spend eternity with Christ, our hearts are again called to action.  Our hearts need to accept Jesus as Savior, who gave his life’s blood (and thus his heart---- the organ needed to pump it), in order for us to walk the streets of heaven.

            As we share love this Valentine’s Day, perhaps we need to have a valentine heart for our Lord.  We celebrate Christmas and Easter for the sacrifice Jesus made, why not celebrate the love the Father had, to offer his Son for us; and further the love Jesus shared, by being willing to go to the cross and take our sins upon him for every man, woman and child across the globe and through ages past and present. 

            There is no greater love than this!  

            Happy Valentine’s Day everyone.


https://www.timesreporter.com/news/20170212/facts-about-valentines-day

Picture credit:  https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=free+pictures+of+hearts&id=231C16C2B9D0AA96CEDD9338AB4632C10874ECA2&FORM=IQFRBA