When
invited to someone’s home for a meal, most people ask, “What can
we bring?” Everyone likes
to contribute something.
Figuring
out what to bring is easy when you are talking about a meal. However, there are other
situations where the
answer is not quite as obvious. We
know
that something needs to be done, but we do not know where to
start. We want to help,
but we are not certain that
we have anything to offer. In
those
cases, scripture has one simple answer:
Bring your heart! When
we engage
our hearts, we start a process that inserts God into the equation.
Matthew
9:35-36 states that, “Jesus went through all the towns and
villages, teaching
in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and
healing every
disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on
them,
because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a
shepherd”. He did not
judge or look down on them, rather
felt compassion for them. Jesus
brought
his heart and, by doing so, he not only changed their situation,
but connected
them to the heart of God.
Later,
just before his crucifixion, Jesus says, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem…
how I have
longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her
chicks under her
wings, but you were not willing” (Matthew 23:37). Even though they were about
to reject him,
Jesus still loves them. Though
their
hearts were hardened towards him, Jesus still offered himself
because that is
what they needed. His
heart for them
changed the situation.
The apostle Paul could have
disliked the
church in Corinth. They
constantly
fought and argued with him. They
questioned his motives and his teaching.
They even mocked him in public. Yet,
Paul never stopped caring for them.
In
fact, in one of his letters to them he states that, “You
yourselves… are
written on our hearts” (2 Corinthians 3:2).
He could have been angry or mean, but instead he brought
his heart.
When
our
hearts are involved, we see things from a different perspective. When our hearts are involved,
we become more concerned
about relationships than with winning an argument. When our hearts are involved,
God’s love and
power come into play.
It
may
not always work and sometimes you must protect yourself, but
change usually begins
when we bring our hearts.
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