Heart Matters

In Luke 7:11-17 the Bible tells the story of Jesus entering the city of Nain and raising to life the dead son of a widow who was being carried to his burial. He was the only son of the widow. One of the significant points of this story is found in verse 13. The New International Version reads, "When the Lord saw her, His heart went out to her and He said, "Don't cry." Other versions such as the NKJV say, "...He had compassion on her..."

Heart matters. We can easily have a detached, external, uninvolved view of things as we make our journey through life. We see with our eyes and hear with our ears but are unmoved in our hearts, Tragedy and death can unfold before our very eyes and yet, we can remain cold and stoic. Not so with Jesus! He saw the tears of this widow and felt the grief that filled her heart. This preceded the miracle of Jesus raising the dead son back to life.

For Jesus to be moved in His heart and exhibit compassion was not atypical. In Matthew 14, Jesus performed a miracle of multiplying five loaves of bread and two fish to feed 5,000 men plus women and children. This miracle was preceded by a heart of compassion.

Heart matters in terms of how we view things and also in the results of our involvement. Many things are happening in our world today that warrants deep, heartfelt concern. If we view them in a superficial way, we will never go beyond a surface response. We will not give, go or pray. What we hear will be in one ear and out the other. What we see will be like a blur passing in front of our eyes. Our world is crying out for people who will be so moved in their hearts that they cannot remain superficial in their response.

In Matthew 6:21 Jesus said, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." What do people value? Where will our interest be focused? The answers are found in the location of the heart. When things become matters of the heart to us, we will respond in a deeper, more involved way.

Heart matters in terms of results. Jesus raised the son of the widow in Nain back to life. This was an awesome display of supernatural power which Jesus exhibited many times during His earthly ministry. As we read the biblical accounts of these many miracles, we dare not isolate the miracles from the heart of compassion that Jesus displayed in conjunction with the miracles. What would happen today if God's people, God's church, would open up their hearts to feel the love and compassion that Jesus felt? What would happen if we were deeply moved by the plight of people like the widow in Nain?

We sing songs in our churches about God speaking to our hearts and touching our heart. May the words of these songs become the reality of our lives. Heart matters!