Tauler says "A pure heart is one too which all that is not of God is strange and jarring."
Do we even know what a pure heart looks like? No human is pure, no human is perfect, no human is sinless. There is only One who has a pure heart and He sacrificed His life for our selfish, sinning, dysfunctional hearts. But we already know this right?
Now here is a crazy story. I have been studying 1 Samuel recently (I've gotten into the Old Testament this year) And I realized something. Often, God's chosen ones aren't the ones packed with muscle and brawn, and the ones like Saul, who stand head and shoulders above all of Israel. Our God does not build His mightiest warriors out of the stuff of flesh, but out of the stuff of willingness and desire, the things of His Spirit. God esteems the inner yielded-ness of a man and not the physical strength of a male or his ability to lift two hundred pounds.
Now reading 1 Samuel, the first king was Saul and he was filled with God's spirit, but his heart became calloused and God's spirit left him. Around the same time, God is preparing a new warrior a new king, and that is David. God chooses the Davids- the overlooked, the ones of lowly birth, the young men and women of a single-heart for God. The apostle Paul, for instance, wasn't a striking figure physically- in fact, many historical accounts describe him as a shorter diminutive man. But though he may have been shorter in physical stature, he was lionlike- full of power, full of courage, and full of passion for his King. He stood taller spiritually than any man in his day.
Now with David, he was the runt of his family, the bible describes him in 1 Samuel 16:12 as ruddy. And yet God chooses him. I mean come on He's just a young kid, barely out of his teen years. I mean even the prophet Samuel is a little confused on this one. In his head he's probably going "really God this one, the smallest, are You sure you know what you're doing?" And God answers "Man looks at the outside, but God measures the heart" (1 Samuel 16:7).
You see David had the right heart. It was the kind of heart that could be bent to God's agenda, that could learn to love as God loves, serve as God serves, feel compassion as God feels compassion, and feel hatred for the things God hates. He may have not been the strongest, the tallest, or the best- but he was the one with the mightiest heart- humility and childlike trust in God.
That is just the craziest chapter ever. That God our Mighty God would choose someone of lower stature. The Church today would certainly not approve, we look for the suit and tie, clean cut wholesome guy that's going to lead us to the Lord. Do we not remember who Jesus was. He was born in a manager, he didn't where a suit and tie, he wore sandals and a robe. He didn't hang out with the most popular people or have all the money. He spent time with the tax collectors and prostitutes and the scum of the "world." But to Him they were perfect, because in their hearts they new they were sinners and they wanted to be saved, they wanted to repent. And Jesus, He saw into their hearts and loved them.
Why don't we do this? Why do we conform to our culture's message that money, a family, a job, and so on is everything you need. You need to look a certain way and have certain types of friends. When really all we need is Jesus, and everything else He gives to us is a blessing and a gift.
I think it's something I tend to forget. I am so focus on what is going on the world around me sometimes I forget to remember that everything I have is a precious gift. The computer I am typing on. Gift. The room and building I am living in. Gift. The fact that I get to go to school. Gift. My family and friends. Gift. The breath I just took. Gift. How often do we go through the day and take for granted these gifts? I know I do all to often.
We are all filled with God's spirit, when we ask Him to come into our lives and make us new we are filled with His love and spirit, but we take it for granted, we forget it's there. We let our hearts become calloused, like Saul. We pray to our Father in Heaven, but do we ever pray to the Spirit inside of us? Asking God's spirit inside of us to move, set us on fire anything. No? You just realized His Spirits still there didn't you? We are not worthy of this abundant grace God pours out upon us.
But God knows the condition of our hearts. Whose a false follower and whose a true follower. You can say you love Jesus and your a Christian and really not be one. Only God knows the true conditions of our hearts. He knows our every thought good or bad, every desire physical, emotional, sexual, spiritual. He knows everything. And yet we continue to try and hide it from Him. I guess through this long post the question that I'm trying to ask myself is What am I trying to hide from God? I keep filling myself up, but is there something I need to let go of even more. Is there something I am holding onto or hoping for that I need to lay at my Savior's feet. The answer is Yes, there is. When I search the deep parts of my heart I find those corners that are still tucking in earthly desires and I need to put those to death. So that my heart is completely Gods.
We will never be happy until we are fully satisfied with God. The truth is, we can never be fully satisfied of God. We should always hunger and thirst for more of Him. But there's points in our lives that God will bless us, because He knows He is our life. He is the first and last of our every being. God desires to give us a beautiful life, whether it be a family/ marriage, a career, or a life of singleness. If we are fully and totally in love with our Lord, it won't matter what we are doing, because we will be doing it for God's glory.
I guess I should leave you with some theological question about God, or some awe moment quote, but really there isn't much I can say, because I'm in the same boat. I guess the only thing I would tell you is to look inside yourself, speak to the Spirit inside of you and ask Him to move, to show you those deep corners of your heart that need to be cleared out. And the one question I would ask is What condition is your heart in?
Just think about it...
I know I am.
In Christ abundant love,
His and yours,
Cami
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