Keeping God, Happiness in the Heart

June 3, 2001
In 1 Kings 8:27, King Solomon declares in his prayer of dedication of the temple: "The heavens even the highest heaven, cannot contain you." There is nothing in the universe big enough to contain God, yet God desires to live in the hearts of those who love Him! What an overwhelming concept. The heart is the essence of our being, physically and spiritually. Is it any wonder that love comes straight from the heart?

We often say "Thank you from the bottom of my heart." I find notes taped around the house written with "I love you with all my heart." We express our deepest emotion from the heart.

Look at any concordance and you will find hundreds of scriptures relating to the heart. Just a few of the following scriptures relate the importance of the heart:

"Blessed are the pure in heart...."(Matthew 5:8)

"A merry heart has a continual feast." (Proverbs 15:15)

"Mary kept and pondered in her heart." (Luke 2:51)

"Let not your heart be troubled." (John 14:1)

We are to "Love the Lord our God with all of our hearts..." (Mark 12:30)

Our words reveal what is in our hearts. (Matthew 12:35)

The benefits of a right heart with God cannot be measured and a contrite heart He will not refuse. Hiding the Word in your heart keeps the attitude of the heart right. My ninety-two years young friend told me: "I'm so thankful I hid God's Word in my heart, because they come to me in the night when I can't sleep." My friend's heart is happy. Even though it has been around for ninety-two years, it is a heart that has loved and is still loving. That heart will live throughout eternity. Many years ago she gave her heart a home, a home where God abides.

I read somewhere that God will not be looking for trophies or medals on the heart, but scars. Scars on the heart reveal a broken heart, a heart that has been softened by love and forgiveness. Such a heart reveals the evidence of having reached out to others, of having taken a chance, a risk, all in the name of love. The scars show that you are a human being, capable of love and compassion. I would have rather lived and loved with a broken heart than never to have lived at all.

Has your heart ever been broken? Have you ever tried to pick up the pieces of your heart and move on? Maybe you found some of the pieces jagged and not quite the same, but they are proof that you have lived and loved.

Think of the broken heart Jesus had when He hung on the cross for mankind's sins, yet His love is greater than our sins. He is in the heart changing business. He performs heart transplants every day. He removes the stony, hard heart and replaces it with a soft, pliable heart that responds to love.

I think that must be the kind of transplant Jesus did for me. My granddaughter says "Mawmaw is a Christian because she cries a lot!" Yes, I do cry easily, but they are happy tears.... because I have love in my heart for you.