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Did you know that the Bible uses the word ‘heart’ approximately 826 times? That’s a lot! So, God must think the heart is a super-important thing for every human-bean.
In Proverbs 4:23, God says, “Guard your heart with all diligence, for out of it flow the springs of life.” Everything we do is from the heart, as it’s used Biblically.
How so? The heart is used in the Bible as the seat of our mind, emotions, will, and spiritual life. We think (and therefore we are), consider, cogitate, and ruminate about life. Emotionally, the feelings we have stem from the Biblical heart. How we feel about God and spiritual life is important to God; here’s Deuteronomy 6:5, which shows us: “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” Love. Love the LORD with all your heart. That’s it! That’s the key!
Jesus said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15).
The Biblical heart makes decisions for us. “I believe that Jesus is God’s Son, and I want to be baptized to wash away my sins.” Or, “I love the Lord, so I’ll do what I can to bring glory to Him.” That’s the willing portion of the heart.
The heart is also the center of our spiritual lives. It’s so important that Deuteronomy 6:5 is repeated in Luke 10:27. Without the God-heart connection, we’re just beans without a purpose. Where do we get that connection? Well, that’s easy. We use the Bible, especially the New Testament.
Jesus came to save folks from sin (Luke 19:10). He did that by communicating God’s will for salvation. It was a word thing. Later, in Acts 2, the Holy Spirit gave the apostles the ability to speak languages they had never studied. They we endowed with spiritual gifts by the Spirit, performing miracles to certify their words were truly from God.
Here’s a big thing. In Romans 10:17, God tells us, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” So many people are led to spiritual torment by preacher-folk saying all you need to do is believe that Jesus is the Son of God. It simply doesn’t work that way.
In our day, no one can have faith in Jesus without first concluding that Jesus is who He claims to be. That conclusion is based on an effort made to study scripture. After studying, we’ll come to the thought that there is no other logical conclusion than that Jesus rose from the dead. That’s a mighty powerful faith.
The heart is extremely important to God. It reflects who we are as individuals, and by the heart (mind, emotions, will, and spirit), the Father wants every person to come to salvation through Jesus. When the heart believes, one is on the track for heaven.
Garland Van Dyke for the Matthews St. church of Christ in Bay City, TX 77414
PO Box 1522, 1915 Matthews St.