January 14 - Do You Have a Heart? (1/14/13)

Are you "tender hearted?" Not to be confused with "tender headed!" Do you cry at the smash of a butterfly on your windshield? How about a commercial about abused animals? Do your feel compassion for the man on the side of the intersection with a clorox jug (I'm not kidding) to put money into? Do you turn away or pretend you don't see? Are you analytical about the needs around you or so sad you can't function?

Yesterday, our pastor started a sermon on the Wizard of Oz. Now, even if you don't attend Pantego Bible Church you can watch the sermon online. It was extremely interesting to me. The Tin Man was actually interviewed by David (I'm pretty sure it was a staff person), and he gave his point of view, his life story of living without a heart. It was funny, yet it made me squirm a bit. I loved the part about the Tin Man sitting in church every Sunday, "How can you miss me? I am 'silver!'"

So why do I squirm? You see, I used to not have a heart. Well, I had one, but it was not very sensitive. By the time I confess all the truths about me, you may want to cross the street or the mall aisle when you see me coming! Seriously, in "Jesus Calling" today, the author says you can cover up your outward appearance in order to look pretty great, and yet still be "messed up" on the inside and no one need ever know. I was like that.

A description of the old me: I gave to the poor, started food drives at the school, picked up stray animals, even returned lost dogs to their owners (and I am a cat person), adored my family, passionately protected and indulged my friends, taught Vacation Bible School, and did all the right loving and heart-sensitive things. But - the "lost"…I mean the really lost, the ones so lost you don't even have a chance to ignore. The lost living in South America or east Arlington, well, they just didn't hurt my heart. I would say to myself, "The church has missionaries for that." I also used to be very glad God didn't call me to be a missionary because I thought it must be a terrible life. Aren't you sad for the old me? And I was lost, too, but didn't know it. My heart didn't hurt for them. Sort of "out of sight, out of mind" I guess would describe my feelings. I gave to missions, then checked that

off my list. I was a Christian all right, but my heart was very small. Then….

A miracle happened in my life in the form of the worst tragedy in my life. I lost my loved one to an illness I couldn't understand. Something so vital was taken from me, and I slipped into a pit of despair. I was really lost then. At first the only way for me to "be" was to get even "harder hearted." You know, surrounding myself with a shell and not letting anyone in. But that didn't last long because here is the "good news:" My Savior sent praying friends who had huge hearts, some people I did not even know, some who did not know my face either, He sent His Word in words from these friends, some big nuggets of truth and some tiny Words of Truth! The Holy Spirit welled up in me. He filled me with love, with compassion, with all the fruits of the Spirit. And guess what? I now have a heart…a real one. Not that I didn't have the truth of God before, but now it was so big it wouldn't stay inside. I still do the old things like feeding stray animals and passionately loving my family and friends. But I also have a heart to feed people, to pick up others who live far away. I am still not a "cry baby."

But I am a person who sees the depths from where I was pulled, and I know how it happened. I can't imagine my life without Jesus. I don't want anyone else to live without Him either. I see the truly lost, the real strays, the human needs differently. When I give to a missionary family or a worthy cause, I pray for those I give to as I write the check. I mourn the fallen life in addition to the fallen pet on the side of the road. Yes, I am a "bleeding heart" who got a real heart, and I want everyone else to have one, too.

"The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart!" I Samuel 16:7

"Love one another deeply, from the heart." I Peter 1:22

Prayer:
Father God, please give us a heart like Yours, a heart so full of compassion and love that is spills over into the world. Amen