So Close, and yet so Far
“…while their hearts are far from me…”
John and his wife Alice were a very conflictive and troubled couple. Alice was raised in a Christian home, where her parent’s marriage had always been a good example for her. She came from a Christian, biblical and church going background
John on the other hand was raised in an atheist and very dysfunctional home. His father was an alcoholic and his mother would not respect her husband. His parents never got divorced, but even though they lived together in the same house, they were “miles apart” as far as love and communication was concerned.
This was John’s background. Although he was a Christian and loved his wife with all his heart, it was not easy for him to disengage from the negative influence that his parents’ marriage had on his life.
One thing is to say that we love God, and another is to love him with our actions. One thing is to attend church to seek God’s power or blessings, and something very different is to seek God every day and everywhere. One thing is to serve God like a robot, or serve him to be seen by others; quite another thing is to serve him because we love him, even though no one sees us, or applauds us.
God looks into our heart, because it indicates of how close (or how far), we are from Christ. We can sit in the temple and be a million miles away from the Lord; we can sing or preach his Word, while our heart is thinking about other things, except in God. God must be honored with our lips and with our heart. The one that believes and does not confess is a coward; and the one that does not believe and confesses with his lips, is a hypocrite.
