How many times have you been told - “just follow your heart”? Sounds right, doesn’t it? We will not live with much joy if we choose to dutifully slog through this new year doing whatever someone else tells us to do. Each one of us is unique and to that extent it is a good thing to live joyfully in who we are.
I stood alongside of a young man yesterday who took tools in hand and fixed a machine in a matter of moments and watched the happiness of accomplishing that task spread over his face. It’s who he is. He would be miserable behind a desk! I know a family who loves the various animals that are part of their lives. They expend great energies in their care of the many creatures. While I do not share their love, I admire the joy they find in the work because it is uniquely who they are.
The ‘noble person’ idea is an
attractive philosophy to us, allowing us to believe that we are capable of
accomplishing great good by our own efforts. Again there is a kernel of truth
there. Human beings can do incredibly wonderful
things for the good of the world. But, inside of every one of us there
is a flaw - an attraction to Self that twists our most noble impulse into that
which ultimately serves our own desires. We cannot abandon all other guidelines
in the pursuit of our joy.
Those who cast off all restraints to ‘follow their hearts’ fail to
understand a basic tenet of the wisdom of God that reminds us of the unpleasant
truth of sin. Here’s what we learn. "The heart is deceitful
above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" (Jeremiah
17:9, NIV) Our natural desire is self-preservation, which unchecked by law or
Spirit, becomes an expression of selfishness. If human beings were innately
good, we would not need our laws, would we?
However, we know that when law is
thrown off or breaks down, chaos is quick to follow. A simple example is a classroom of 5th
graders. Take the teacher out of the classroom for a while and see how quickly the
rules are forgotten. Paul reminds us of
the "sinful nature.” Because
of it we experience a conflict of values.
He says “I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what
is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it
anyway." (Romans 7:18-19, NLT)
There is HOPE for us. Our hearts can be
changed. When Christ Jesus entered the world He brought the gift of salvation
from sin and invites us to experience the ongoing transformation that is the
Spirit’s work in us to make us new, beautiful, whole beings who discover the
joy of His plans and purpose. Oh, yes, I
readily acknowledge that mere religion will be just another tool of
power used by the privileged to take advantage of the masses. God’s invitation to us is not to adopt the
rules written by others so that we can meet their expectatsions. He invites us to come and follow Christ! We can overcome sin and through faith find great
joy in the company of the Living God. This is His amazing declaration - "if anyone is in Christ, he is a new
creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" (2 Corinthians 5:17,
NIV)
Christians, like their Lord, will be ready to give up their lives to defeat
evil with love. The laste Timothy Keller said “If we embrace the Christian
teaching that Jesus is God and that he went to the Cross, then we have deep
consolation and strength to face the brutal realities of life on earth. We can
know that God is truly Emmanuel – God with us- even in our worst sufferings.”
(Reason for God, Riverhead, 2008) We see the cross is followed by resurrection
and therefore we have great hope that our dying to self will be followed by the
emergence of something new and glorious. When our heart and mind are informed
by the truth of the Word and we are given unique callings and abilities by God.
Led by the Spirit, we can go beyond ‘following our heart’ to following the
Spirit, Who will never make us slaves. He will instead make us into that person
God created us to be, a being who lives for Him and finds great joy in their uniqueness.
As we launch into this New Year, let’s not be deceived by those who urge us to ‘just follow your heart!’ Instead let’s pray for the new, whole, and holy life that God gives us in Christ.
Here is the word from the
Word. I am using The Message, a contemporary paraphrase of the Scripture today.
Let the promise own you!
"So don’t you see that we don’t owe this old do-it-yourself life one
red cent. There’s nothing in it for us, nothing at all. The best thing to do is
give it a decent burial and get on with your new life. God’s Spirit beckons.
There are things to do and places to go! This resurrection life you received
from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It’s adventurously expectant,
greeting God with a childlike “What’s next, Papa?”
God’s Spirit touches our
spirits and confirms who we really are. We know who he is, and we know who we
are: Father and children. And we know we are going to get what’s coming to
us—an unbelievable inheritance! We go through exactly what Christ goes through.
If we go through the hard times with him, then we’re certainly going to go
through the good times with him! "
(Romans 8:12-17, The Message)
Let’s
keep in step with the Spirit!
(Video of
this blog at this link)
____________________
As each day passes by, I feel my love run dry
I get so weary, worn and tossed 'round in the storm
Well I'm blind to all His needs and I'm tired of planting seeds
I seem to have a wealth of so many thoughts about myself
I want to, I need to, be more like Jesus
I want to, I need to, be more like Him
Our Father's will was done by giving us His Son
Who paid the highest cost, to point us to the cross
And when I think of Him taking on the whole world's sin
I take one look at me compared to what I'm called to be
I want to, I need to, be more like Jesus
I want to, I need to, be more like Him
Remember, there's no greater love
Than to lay down your life for a friend
The end of all my prayers is to care like my Lord cares
My one and only goal, His image in my soul
Yes, my weakness is revealed when by His stripes I'm healed
He's faithful and He's true to complete the work He begins in you
I want to, I need to, be more like Jesus
I want to, I need to, be more like Him
Remember, there's no greater love
Than to lay down your life, no
There's no greater love than to lay down your life
For a friend, for a friend
I want to, I need to, be more like Jesus
I want to, I need to, be more like Him
I want to, I need to, be more like Jesus
I want to, I need to, be more like Him
I want to, I need to, be more like Jesus
I want to, I need to, be more like Him
Songwriters: Keith Gordon Green / Melody Green / Kelly Faye Willard
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