The cancer experience can turn up things you never expected. The set-back that led to my spending a short spell in hospital raised a number of questions some of which might be resolved if I was placed on a Electrocardiogram Monitor. This is a small gizmo rather like an ipod which you wear over a period of time, in my case 72 hours, which records how your heart is performing throughout your daily activities.
If you look up any Bible Concordance you will find that the ancient people of faith were extraordinarily interested in ‘the heart’. Not from a physiological or medical point of view however. By and large, when we read of ‘the heart’ in Scripture this refers to a person’s inner being, the core of a person’s being, the place where thoughts are born, where emotions are experienced, where attitudes are formed. If you like it is the ‘heart’ that directs the people we are and can work for good or ill. The Psalmist Asaph observing the ‘wicked’ around him says:
‘From their callous hearts
comes iniquity;
the evil conceits of their minds know no limits.’ (Psalm 73: 7)
Jesus takes this up in His teaching. Speaking against the Pharisees and their obsession with traditions that have no basis in Scripture he says:
“Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile them.” (Matthew 15: 17-20)
Here is Jesus again speaking about the ‘heart’ and how we know when it is in good order:
“No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.‘ (Luke 6: 43-45)
We see the health of a person’s inner being in how that person is experienced outwardly. In particular Jesus homes in on speech. This is the ‘overflow’ of the heart. We see the state of water in a tank by what comes out in the overflow pipe. Similarly we see to the core of a person’s being in how their lives are outwardly expressed, particularly in their words which express opinions, priorities, attitudes. The things that direct their lives and show the quality of their lives.
From our perspective medicine in Jesus‘ day could rightly be described as primitive. The people of His day would have been amazed that my heartbeat could be monitored over a 72 hour period on a small piece of equipment. We are so much more advanced. It is doubtful, however, if we are any further forward when it comes to spiritual health. If it were possible to monitor our spiritual ‘hearts’ what would be the results? Mind you, we have a monitor in God’s Word but more particularly in the person at the heart of that Word. Jesus presents us not just with teaching but is also the embodiment of that teaching.
‘Spirituality’ has become fashionable. People who would nor profess faith in God describe themselves as ‘spiritual’ if they are sensitive, meditative, interested in ancient wisdom. For a Christian our spirituality is our daily walk with Christ. Has His teaching found a place in our hearts such that He is directing our priorities and attitudes? This is surely what Paul means when he says:
‘So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.’ (Colossians 2: 6-7)
People sometimes refer to the day when they gave their heart to Jesus. That’s fine if it’s recognized that this is not a one off event but a commitment to live our lives in Him.
