In and Out
“He did what was right…yet not with a true heart?”
What is the heart of a man? What is its substance? Sometimes I have asked myself these and other important questions. For a long time, I believed that the “heart” that governs our will and emotions, was the physical heart.
I have learned since that time that our “hearts” are located in the very center of our being. It is here, where the Holy Spirit dwells and influences our emotions, our thoughts and our wills. The heart and our spirit are one and the same; just as some biblical authorities compare the human soul to the mind.
On the other hand, we communicate and relate to human beings mainly though our physical bodies. A spirit can’t touch, be seen or heard audibly by others. This is the main function of the body… to serve our fellow man in a tangible way.
Amaziah did what was right (with his body) externally, but his heart was not perfect before the Lord. We must be Christians inside and out; that is, we are called to serve our Lord with all of our strength (body), mind (soul), and heart (spirit).
Our hearts must lead the way, but the heart (or spirit) must first be influenced and directed by the Holy Spirit, otherwise it would lead us to disaster because, as Jeremiah 17:9 says:
“The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?”
A heart that is holy and moved by the Spirit of God will in turn affect the soul and move the body in the paths of righteousness. Worship and service that is only external (with the body) is hypocritical; and adoration that resides only in our hearts, but is never manifested in the other parts of our being is useless. Are you serving God inside and out?
