God Wept

If you grew up in church like I did you may remember Sunday School "Bible Drills." The idea was to see who could find an obscure Scripture the fastest, or could quote a Bible verse before anyone else. Silly, I know. A favorite verse to quote quickly was John 11:35, the shortest verse in the Bible. "Jesus wept."

While that might be a convenient verse to quote quickly, few have stopped to consider its importance. Those who have, pose a variety of interpretations. One of the most common suggests that because some in the crowd questioned why Jesus had not kept Lazarus from dying (verse 37), it made Jesus so upset that he cried. After all, the very next verse points out that Jesus "was once more deeply moved" (verse 38), proof positive that Jesus wept because he was upset at the unbelief of some in the crowed. But what does that suggest about Jesus? At the very least, it suggests that when Jesus was upset enough, he responded by crying. For some reason, it seems unacceptable that Jesus could have wept simply because he was sorrowful or grieving.

The context of this short but profound statement points out that when Jesus saw Mary weeping (verse 33), he responded emotionally and empathetically to her grief. In fact, some in the crowd noted, "See how he loved him" (verse 36). Jesus could not have been grieving at the death of Lazarus since he knew very well what the Father had planned. He was simply sharing in the sorrow of Mary and her friends. Not only is it acceptable to believe that Jesus wept out of compassion for Mary in her grief, doing so paints a very important picture of the heart of Jesus, and of God. 

A great deal of our faith development depends on how we view God. For some, God is a grumpy old man sitting on a throne, criticizing and judging us. In fact, God may be hoping we will make a mistake, knowing that inevitably we will, so he can slap us and remind us what losers we are. Or just reject us outright! God would certainly never grieve for us, mourning our poor choices and their consequences. However, "Jesus wept" paints a very different picture of God.

When the antediluvian society became utterly corrupt, "it grieved [God] at his heart" (Genesis 6:6). While the Israelites were demonstrating their hardness of heart while wandering in the wilderness, God "grieved with this generation" (Psalm 95:10). While giving Jeremiah a message of judgment for Judah, God revealed, "Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people" (9:1). God wept! God takes no pleasure in the failings and pain of people but only in any opportunity to demonstrate his love for them. "Do I take pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign Lord. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?" (Ezekiel 18:23).

The story of Mary and Lazarus was not the only time the Gospel records Jesus weeping. Before his trial and crucifixion, Jesus saw the city of Jerusalem and wept over it, knowing the judgment that was to come (Luke 19:41). Isaiah had prophesied that the Messiah would be "a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief" (Isaiah 53:3). God's heart is filled with love, a love that gives selflessly to others and grieves when that gift is refused.

Some might say that these passages are simply examples of human beings making God in their own image. The truth is, human beings are made in God's image. The human capacity for empathy and sympathy are true reflections of the heart of God. It is a sign that God's heart of love is working a change in our lives when we are able to "rejoice with those who rejoice [and] mourn with those who mourn" (Romans 12:15). 

Seeing Jesus on the cross, hearing his cry, "Father, forgive them," is the purest example of the heart of God. At that moment, God was not only demonstrating his love for us, God was also inviting us to return to a life-giving, intimate relationship with him. Jesus made the way for us, and his love still reaches out to us today. 

The Heart of the Matter, Part Two

I don't know about you, but I like to get to the root and the core of an issue. So much of what we deal with and even fight about is superficial, surface and external to the real issues. Ultimately, that begins with understanding the core of our own existence. Discovering what is in our own hearts will enable us to focus on our real issues, not focusing primarily on surface symptoms.

In Scripture, the center and core of a human person is called the "heart." All the core elements of our nature and lives can be found in our heart. Every virtue has its roots in our heart. At the same time, every element of our "sin disease" also has its roots in our heart. It could be that we spend so much time wrestling with the symptoms of our fallen nature because we never discover what the core issues are.

"Sin" is not a popular word in our culture, but looking at the story of how it entered into God's good creation reveals that sins exists because of a decision to rebel against God as Creator and Lord. Sin results from any attempt to live independently from God, to displace God at the center of all things, including our lives. In the end, the essence of sin is self-centeredness. To put it simply, the core and root of every sinful thought, word and behavior is some form of self: self-importance, self-indulgence, self-pity, self-sufficiency, etc. Having said that, it is clear that Scripture shines a light on the specific roots of sin in our nature.

Any pattern of sin comes from a hard, unresponsive heart (Psalm 73:7). It is a stubborn, rebellious heart that proves to be disloyal and unfaithful to God (Psalm 78:8). The prophet Jeremiah was famous for pointing out that "the heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure" (17:9). It is the tendency of a hard, human heart to scheme and conspire, to look for reasons to get one's way. Being beyond cure means that we are completely dependent on God to provide the cure. The prophet Ezekiel pointed out that the leaders in his generation, while being very pious, were setting up "idols in their hearts," resulting in "wicked stumbling blocks" (14:3). All idolatry is a heart issue. In fact, it could be said that, in essence, all idolatry is self worship.

I'm especially fascinated by the teaching of Jesus on the matter. In both the Gospels of Matthew (15:17-20) and Mark (7:21-23), Jesus commented on the superficial piety and hypocrisy of the Pharisees who were questioning why his disciples did not wash their hands before eating. Jesus responded by getting to the heart of the matter. The issue of eating was an external, surface issue and did not get to the core issues. After all, whatever a person eats will simply enter and eventually exit the physical body. It was not an issue of virtue or character. "There is nothing outside the man which can defile him" (Mark 7:15). Instead, Jesus pointed out that human defilement and corruption are the result of whatever is in the heart, and that certain corrupt elements in the heart eventually come out as sinful words and behaviors. The problem is not outside but inside. When we combine the teaching in Matthew and Mark we can observe a list of 14 issues that have their root in the human heart. Just attempting to manage their sinful words and behaviors will prove to be fruitless. Take a look at the list:

• Evil thoughts
• Murder
• Adultery
• Sexual immorality
• Theft
• False testimony
• Slander
• Greed
• Malice
• Deceit
• Lewdness
• Envy
• Arrogance
• Folly

That's quite a thorough list of human attitudes and behaviors. For Jesus, it was vitally important to understand that they were more than bad choices, that they had their roots in the human heart. These issues are really symptoms of deeper, core issues in the heart.

The apostles often commented on sin issues. Paul referred to a stubborn and unrepentant heart (Romans 2:5). The writer to the Hebrews spoke about an unbelieving heart (3:12) and the problem of bitterness taking root in the heart (12:15). James drew attention to the problem of bitter envy and selfish ambition growing in the human heart (3:14). Learning to discern the root and core of our issues existing and growing in our hearts is essential to the development of the character of Christ in our lives. While it is not a prerequisite for salvation and does not earn us any righteous "brownie points," learning to follow Christ in faithful obedience is the desire of Christ-followers and the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives.

It's no wonder Solomon advised his son, "Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it" (Proverbs 4:23). However, the ability to guard our hearts does not happen accidentally. Knowing how to guard our hearts calls for reflection on those things that foster a good and noble heart and an intentional, proactive focus on those things. Being honest about the condition of our heart can be difficult, requiring more awareness than we usually have. It's for that reason that God promises to occasionally provide a "test" that will show what is really in our heart (Deuteronomy 8:2). 

We are also encouraged to search our own hearts (Psalm 4:4). It is those who have a pure heart that will be able to "ascend the mountain of the Lord" (Psalm 24:3-4). "Create in me a clean heart, O God" (Psalm 51:10). 

Both Old and New Testaments speaking about the need to "circumcise" our hearts (Deuteronomy 10:16; 30:6). While that certainly involves entering into a covenant relationship with the Lord from the heart, it also includes a commitment to no longer being "stiff-necked," to having an open, soft, responsive heart toward the Lord. "Plowing up" the hard ground of our hearts is an ongoing challenge, one that can only take place if we commit ourselves to the process. A soft heart is the only kind of heart that can become the seedbed for the character of Christ. 

A soft heart is devoted to seeking the Lord as a lifestyle (1 Chronicles 22:19). A soft, responsive heart is one that serves the Lord with "wholehearted devotion" and "a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart" (1 Chronicles 28:9). A willing, obedient heart meditates on those things that are pleasing to the Lord (Psalm 19:14). A soft heart is a heart of humility, understanding it's radical dependence on God (Psalm 131:1). A heart responsive to the Lord is a single, undivided heart, a heart that is knit to the Lord (Psalm 86:11). It is a repentant heart, determined to return to the Lord with the whole heart (Joel 2:12-13). 

A heart prepared for the Lord has made a hiding place for God's Word in the heart (Psalm 119:11), and is committed to responding obediently to that Word (Psalm 119:112). "Search me, God, and know my heart" (Psalm 139:23). 

I once again return to the teaching of Jesus about the human heart. Jesus pointed out the difference between the good things that come out of the good store up in the heart as compared to evil things that come from an evil heart (Luke 6:45). He warned about a heart that is weighed down with "carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life" (Luke 21:34). Jesus also promised that those who are "thirsty" for living water should come to him and drink and he would give them living water. "He who believes in me, as the Scripture said, From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water" (John 7:37-38). It is possible for a person who has a heart-to-heart relationship with God to, instead of being weighed down, experience an overflow of living water from the heart. 

The apostle Paul provided excellent guidelines for the cultivation of a pure heart. His overarching principle is this: "A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please the flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life" (Galatians 6:7-8). The human heart is pictured as a garden. It is possible to reap a harvest of eternal, abundant life, but that harvest will require a certain kind of seed to be sown. "Garbage in, garbage out!" Discerning the difference between the two kinds of seed requires careful and prayerful sensitivity.

Paul provided examples from his personal life. In more than one place he pointed out that all things were "lawful" for him. His personal salvation was based on a sure foundation of grace. He had answered the question of his personal standing before God. He had settled the issue: God was his Father and heaven was his home. I'm amazed at how often people ask what the least thing they need to do and still not go to hell! It's a grossly irrelevant and misleading question. That issue needs to be settled once and for all. However, although all things were lawful for Paul, not everything was "beneficial" or "edifying" (1 Corinthians 10:23-24). He could "get away" with some things that were not, however, advantageous, helpful or profitable. Some things would not involve breaking covenant with God, but they also did not build up or strengthen him in vitally important ways. A lot of things are entertaining without passing the edification test.

Paul went so far as to list the kinds of things that someone concerned about sowing seed that produced true life should focus on (Philippians 4:8), including things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy. He encouraged believers to set their hearts on "things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God" (Colossians 3:1), and to direct their hearts to the love of God (2 Thessalonians 3:5).

In the end, it is the grace of God that is able to strengthen the human heart (Hebrews 13:9). It's also possible for our hearts to be broken. Almost every person has experienced giving their heart to someone or something, only to be broken and hurt as a result. Part of the mission of Jesus was to "bind up the brokenhearted" (Isaiah 61:1). It's comforting to know that God draws near to those with broken hearts in order to heal them (Psalm 34:18; 147:3). If the goal is to have a heart like God's heart, it will require God personal intervention as well as our conscious intention.

I love how the last stanza of an old Wesley hymn puts it: "Speak, gracious Lord, my sickness cure, / Make my infected nature pure; / Peace, righteousness, and joy impart, / And pour thyself into my heart." Amen. 

The Heart of the Matter

People can be complicated! I have often claimed that I am just a simple guy, not fancy or complicated, the product of generations of farming families. What you see is what you get! blah blah blah But in reality, I'm just as complicated as the next person, with mixed motives, jumbled up emotions, moments of doubt and fear. And an aging body just aggravates the complexity.

Just when we think that the apostle Paul has simplified matters for us by referring to our "spirit, soul and body" (1 Thessalonians 5:23), theologians jump in with disagreements about whether or not we are really made up of three parts, two parts or just one combination of all. They then disagree on how to define each part of the human being with a vast variety of views on how they all interact and work together! In the end, it just seems to muddy the water.

But the more I reflect on our human nature, the more I am drawn to one simple conclusion: the core and center of every human being is described in Scripture simply as the "heart." And if that is so, we would be benefited by exploring what the Bible says about the human center/heart and how that might help us focus our lives, and even facilitate the process of growth in Christlikeness.

If our "heart" is the center and core of our being, then everything else flows out of that center. Every other aspect of our lives, both the good and the bad, are extensions of some core elements in our heart. 

Our core values, the things we treasure, are located in our heart (Matthew 6:21). Our core motivations and affections can be found in our heart (1 Corinthians 4:5). Trust, a key element in our faith, grows in our heart. Our will, our desires and the way we make decisions, is found in the heart. The human character is formed primarily in the heart, God's "law" being written on our heart (Romans 2:15). "As water reflects the face, so one's life reflects the heart" (Proverbs 27:19). 

The heart is where the human spirit has the potential of being activated by the entrance of the Holy Spirit and becoming a powerful element in our lives. As the Bible says, God has "set eternity in the human heart" (Ecclesiastes 3:11; see also 2 Corinthians 1:21-22). Our personal knowledge and relationship with God is primarily a matter of the heart (2 Corinthians 4:6). In fact, the actual covenant we have made with God to be his faithful servants exists primarily in the heart, as a "circumcision of the heart" (Romans 2:29). Our deep, personal commitments reside in our heart (1 Kings 8:61; 9:4). 

It is possible to be religious, to say and do all the right things, to give every appearance of being a spiritually mature person, without that reality existing in our heart. Both the prophets and Jesus had little patience with that kind of superficial religiosity (Isaiah 29:13). "Like a coating of silver dross on earthenware are fervent lips with an evil heart" (Proverbs 26:23). A lack of integrity results in the need to pretend we are more mature than we are, something Jesus condemned as hypocrisy. 

It's important to note that God is described as having a heart. God's character and motivations, God's love, is a matter of the heart. That's why God was looking for, longing for, people who reflected his own heart (1 Samuel 2:35; 13:14). "People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart" (1 Samuel 16:7). In fact, if we are to grow into the heart of God, we will be dependent on God opening our hearts and depositing the beautiful aspects of his own heart into ours (Acts 16:14). It's no wonder that Paul prayed "that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened" (Ephesians 1:18). 

So, we can fake godly virtues and character, but if the core and roots of those virtues are not in the heart, if they are only in our heads, we can be found to occasionally exhibit their opposites.

Virtue is found in our hearts. When God promised a "new covenant," one of the core promises was that God's Law would be written on the human heart and not tables of stone (Psalm 37:31; Ezekiel 11:19). "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh" (Ezekiel 36:26). A key concern involves the difference between a hard, rebellious heart a willing and obedient heart. Somehow keeping our heart open and responsive to the Lord is the starting point of our relationship with God and the transformation of our lives. 

King Solomon is famous for asking the Lord to give him a "discerning heart" (1 Kings 3:9). Just being knowledgeable would have been an insufficient basis for his righteous rule. True wisdom is not a matter of the head but of the heart (Proverbs 14:33). Trusting the Lord in every situation is the basis for a steadfast heart (Psalm 112:7). "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding" (Proverbs 3:5).  

Having a personal knowledge of God and an intimate relationship with God is a matter of the heart. The prophet Jeremiah spoke of receiving a heart to know God (24:7) and of a promise that those who seek the Lord with their whole heart will find him (29:13). 

Jesus promised a kingdom blessing on those who have a pure heart, promising them that they would see God (Matthew 5:8). A pure heart is simply a heart with a single focus on and commitment to God and a life that serves God wholeheartedly. Jesus warned about the danger of not forgiving someone from the heart (Matthew 18:35). In the famous Parable of the Sower, Jesus taught that it is seed planted in a "noble and good heart," in a praiseworthy and upright heart, that will bear abundant fruit. Before his crucifixion Jesus encouraged his friends to not allow their hearts to be troubled, to not be afraid (John 14:27).

The members of the first church in Jerusalem had a reputation for having "glad and sincere hearts," joyful and simple hearts (Acts 2:46). God's Spirit is joined to our human hearts, resulting in a new life with new possibilities. It is the presence and activity of the Spirit that also represents the presence of Christ in our heart (Ephesians 3:17). True worship comes from the heart of a believer, not the head (1 Peter 3:15). Frankly, it is possible to fake worship, to go through all the expected motions.

God's quality of love becomes a very important element of our heart (Romans 5:5). The peace of God is to be established in our hearts (Philippians 4:7). "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts" (Colossians 3:15). Our growing faith in God is a matter of the heart (Romans 10:10). It is the Holy Spirit in our hearts that is able to call God our "Abba Father" (Galatians 4:6). It's not just our relationship with God that comes from the heart, a heart centered on the Lord will also affect our relationships with others. "Love one another deeply, from the heart" (1 Peter 1:22).

All of the core virtues, the qualities of God's own heart, are to be found and cultivated in the human heart. Integrity of character is a result of the contents of our heart consistently matching the outward elements of our life, our soul and even our body. But it's also true that the core and roots of sin are to be found in the human heart. In fact, the growth and development of our faith and our Christlike character depends on our ability to discern these root issues.