Mark 7 - The Heart

Pretend you’re 21, single. Some of you need to think way back! You meet a guy. He’s gorgeous so he gets a second look and a quick comparison to your “list”….which if not on paper, is definitely in your head. It contains all the qualities of the guy you’re going to marry. Men are totally unaware a list exists. Amazing isn’t it.

Funny thing though, he can fulfill every point but if he does not capture your heart, you will probably walk away.

In Mark 7, the Pharisees are following Jesus trying to find fault. The disciples eat bread without washing their hands. This washing had nothing to do with cleaning dirty hands. It was a ceremonial rinsing with several steps that had to be followed to the letter. This procedure was not found in scripture. It was one of many laws that they had added to scripture.

It was as if, hands on hips, they were saying, “You are not following the rules.”

Ever known religious people like that? When I was growing up it was the length of your hair. The Beatles were big and all the guys copied their haircuts. Going from an almost shaved head to long hair and long hair that looked like guys who played rock music almost sent the religious establishment over the edge. “Who cares about your heart….look at you!!”

Fearless, bold, in their face, Jesus steps up to the plate. “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites!” Cuts right to the chase. “As it is written, these people honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.”

They said, “God bless you” at all the right times. They were in church, they bowed their heads to pray, sang hymns, gave their money. But it was a sham. They only looked the part. Their hearts were not engaged. Their hearts were so full of themselves, there was no room for God.

Jesus tells his disciples, “What comes out of a man, defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of men come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, eagerness for lustful pleasure, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness.”

What he wanted was their hearts. Because when your heart is changed, your actions follow. Doesn’t that apply to all of life as well? To any relationship? There’s just so much you can do out of duty because eventually duty becomes tedious, hollow and unrewarding and you opt out. But love. Love changes everything.

And that’s how God relates to us. “For God so loved the world that he….” So He says to us, “Love the Lord (love Me) with all your heart, all your soul and all your might.” Changes everything. It’s reciprocal. It’s not a list of rules I follow because I’ve put my name on a church roll.

And Jesus took the law to a whole new level. He taught that the righteousness of the law involves an internal conformity to the spirit of the law, rather than just external conformity. Big difference. You can comply to the letter…give 10% out of duty, because you’re supposed to or you can give to the need without figuring the percentage, because the need exists and you want to give. The internal conformity Jesus talks about involves the heart.

Do you know people in churches today just following the rules, with unengaged hearts? Does this bring joy? Fulfillment? Peace? a good picture of who God is? I don’t think so.

There are marriages like this. For years they go through the motions and then the kids leave and two people look at each other over breakfast one morning and realize their hearts are no longer engaged. In fact, they haven’t been for years…they’ve just been going through the motions.

So why do we do this with God? Go through all the motions, all the activities, abide by all the rules and then one day wake up and realize our hearts are not engaged and maybe never have been. At this point, most just walk away.

If you come to that realization as an adult or you know your heart has never been engaged period, you might follow this realization to some conclusions. Either He’s not real or if He is, you’re not interested in this kind of God. Maybe it’s ok for others but it’s just not you. Or if you’ve given much thought to your reasons for always excluding God from your life, maybe a plethora of objections trip you up such as “since evil and suffering exist, a loving God cannot” or “evolution explains life so God isn’t needed.”

I’m reading The Case for Faith by Lee Strobel. He has an undergraduate degree in journalism and a Master of Studies in Law from Yale Law School and was the legal editor of the Chicago Tribune and a spiritual skeptic until 1981. This book is an investigation of the tough questions that are often raised in discussions about God including the ones I mentioned. Brave guy.

But I can read the whole book, stand in awe of the level of education and knowledge of the scientists and philosophers he interviews, decide he’s right and still walk away. So what.

Bottom line…there has got to be something that speaks to your heart, that intersects with your life and makes God personal and then all those objections will shrink because your heart is captured. Not that those questions cannot be posed or answered, they can and maybe they should. But they will shrink in importance. God will become larger than you ever imagined and he will fill your heart. Not because he sat across the table from you, answered all your questions to your satisfaction, negotiated a deal….nope. He’s God. We are finite little men and women. Most we will never understand…including why a God so big, wants a relationship with me that begins on a heart level.

Something happens that makes him real in your experience….to you personally.

Why? Why me? Why for all eternity has he committed himself to…me? He has because he loves me. He has captured my heart. May that always be the central thought and primary motivation in everything I do and say.