Written on the Heart

[HKHaugan]

The Heart Part 2a

“I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts (Jer.31:33).”

We can’t separate the mind from the heart and the spirit. We have to see them working together. Each has a function. One leads the way to the other. The mind gathers the ideas, the heart processes them and the spirit puts them to work. The mind is a reaper that pulls in thoughts and concepts then reasons them to see which are most believable. The heart sifts them based on their trustability for the person’s uniqueness. The spirit empowers them with faith to act them out. (We’ll look at the spirit in Part 3.)

Jeremiah like all the prophets was given special insight into the heart. Ezekiel too hears from the Lord, “Take to heart all the words I speak to you…(3:10),” a command he processes, writes down and passes on because God desires the restoration of our hearts. It is a loving God that knows the best way to recover the heart is to give it room to make the choice. Will we believe His ideas, trust them and respond in faith? The mind conveys a thought to the heart and the condition of the heart will determine its response in three ways. First, the heart can trust a belief and pass it on to the spirit to act in faith. Second, the heart can trust it but the spirit of fear can block it. Third, sin can harden the heart with its spirits of fear, pride and control which results in retreat, inaction and aloneness. Obviously the first is the way.

But let’s continue.

When Jeremiah says the Lord will write His Word on the heart, even then a sin-conditioned heart will be open to temptation and a moment’s desire can block the consciousness of belief and eternity for its satisfaction. No wonder we have been given the gifts of repentance, forgiveness and recovery. So when our hearts have been condemned in one part of Scripture there is another to lift us, renew us and set us back on the path to faith. Remember deceitful Jacob and famished Esau? Jacob’s lust for long term control and Esau’s lust for momentary satisfaction overtook their hearts and a long term birthright was exchanged for a short moment’s pot of porridge. Later the reverse would take place. Esau grew long term in wisdom and forgiveness while Jacob’s deceitful moments were redeemed in the night he wrestled with the Lord.

Now shift your gaze to Jesus and the adulterous woman when He says to her, “Where are they who have condemned you?” He had shamed the conniving Pharisees into leaving and when they were gone He said to her, “Then neither do I condemn you. Go now and leave your life of sin (John 8:11).” And too, when Jesus was asked if seven times was sufficient for forgiveness He replied seventy times seven (Mt.18:21). Forgiveness is unlimited. Those moments like all of Jesus’ moments were eternity in action. They were God in action. They were God moments and God moments make long term wisdom.

If you think about these teachings that came from the heart of Jesus, what He did naturally we have to learn. He has given us a long term recovery program to be practiced every next moment. Yielding to Him in them, we let Him teach us through His Word and Spirit. That’s how we learn, practice and grab with our hearts what He offers to fill the emptiness with which sin has afflicted us. It’s the same with all of His natural virtues. We can experience them when sin is denied and we regain moment by moment the spiritual foothold we lost in Adam. Our sinful nature is subnormal, unnatural and anti-spiritual. Jesus is the normal man, the natural man, the spiritual man, the true heart man. Jesus is the only man who ever lived of whom it can positively and truly be said ‘He wore His heart on His sleeve.’