What to do with the Heart.
Jeremiah 17:9 "The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it? 10 I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings. NKJV

If you have grown up around the religious traditions in the southern part of the United States the essence of this verse is certainly well known. This verse has become so well known that, in recent years, it has become the subject of much debate. The debate hinges on the question of what to do with the heart.

There has been a long standing tradition that we must PURIFY our hearts. The idea is based on the first part of the verse where we are told that the heart is wicked. The premise is that if we clean the wicked, we will be able to please God and live a happy life.

There is a relatively new movement in Christendom that teaches we should PURSUE our hearts. The idea is based on the fact that if we are redeemed, we now have a new heart that Christ has placed in us, and we need to live from the new heart. If we then by faith follow the new heart we will be able to please God and live a happy life.

So which one is right? While the first approach tends to lead to self-condemnation, the second leans toward self-actualization. The first can lead to a gospel of self-denial, the second a gospel of self-fulfillment. The first may scream legalism while the second seduces with license.

Is there a better way? The answer lies in the text itself. While unstated, it is the obvious solution. This is why biblical meditation is so needful today, in order to unearth that which is obvious. We are to PRESENT our hearts to God. Notice that the text says God searches, test, and repays. In other words, even when we don't know the heart, God does.

It is rather plain that our attempts at purifying and pursuing our hearts without first presenting them will ALWAYS lead us astray. Our venturing from the throne of God does not require conscious awareness that we are venturing, just a lack of dependence on Him as we face life daily.

Our flesh and God's arch foe is delighted when we, even with "Christian" intentions, attempt to purify or pursue our heart. They gloat with us as we apply biblical principles as "how to's" in order to make us socially stable, religiously acceptable and morally responsible. They applaud our efforts and feed our craving (with false fuel) so long as we fail to present ourselves and the central most part of us, our hearts, to God.

Purifying without presenting leaves us with deep dirt unseen by us but at times experienced by others. Pursuing without presenting leaves us with deep dirt unseen by us but at times experienced by others. Both however "feel" right, holy and healthy. Yet nothing is further from the truth but that WHICH IS BLINDED BY A MISAPPLICATION OF IT. Presenting our hearts to God is where the war is waged, the truth is told and the healing unfolds. It is where in naked humility we realize who we are, who He is and to whom we belong. It is here that the Father purges sin, purifies intent, places in us the passion needed to pursue the right things for the right reason so that He might receive Glory in our real living. It is not a one-time-fix-all proposition, it is a continual challenge.

So what shall we do with our hearts? I'll present mine to the Father DAILY, and allow Him to place the right passions in it, passions that will result in my greater pursuit of Him and His Glory. I'll approach the throne of Grace with the blood of the Son and allow the Spirit to apply it to my heart that I might live for God.


Chris Gilliam © 2009