Issues of the Heart – Matthew 12:35
The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil.
Christianity deals with the heart. In our heart’s vaults, we store that which we consider valuable, and from it, we withdraw riches from what we have deposited within its walls. Everything we do, speak, or think flows from our hearts. It controls us. It brightens or darkens our actions, words, and thoughts according to its dictates.[1]
If we desire to have purity, light, and kindness flow from us, our hearts must possess the Lord’s goodness.[2] They must overflow with the priceless gems that come from a devotion to God and a desire to serve and obey Him. Our diamonds must be the perfect law of God, which we place, in faith and with liberality, in our heart’s treasure chest. Love must be our gold, joy our silver, peace our rubies, and righteousness our pearls.
For when our hearts store these riches, gladness will stream forth from them as if we were high on wine; our joy will be contagious, causing those who observe us to join in our jubilation.[3] The sparkle from our jewels will illuminate and radiate from our countenance, drawing others to the source of our beauty, Jesus.[4] Exuberance for life will be the glory that ignites a desire in those around us to know our King.[5]
Those who honor the Lord with their lips while their hearts are far from Him will not enter into the jubilation. Their worship is in vain since God cares about the heart, not about words or actions performed for others to see while masking unrighteousness.[6] The Lord despises those who appear godly while devising evil within their hearts,[7] and tragically deluded are they who attempt to bank good works to their accounts apart from having hearts made good by the indwelling Spirit of God.
If you want to produce that which
is good, desire a heart made good by Jesus.
Fill it with the Word of God, meditating on what the Spirit is teaching
you. If you want discernment and
knowledge, pursue wisdom,[8] and if you want your words to be life giving, take hold of
righteousness.[9] Seek after a good
heart by loving and obeying the Lord, by allowing Him to fill it with His
goodness. Desire a heart like our
Lord’s, so the treasures of life will flow from it.[10]
[1] Luke 6:45
[2] Matthew 7:16-18
[3] Zechariah 10:7
[4] Matthew 6:22-23
[5] Proverbs 18:4
[6] Matthew 15:8-9
[7] Proverbs 6:16-19
[8] Proverbs 10:13-14
[9] Proverbs 10:11
[10] Proverbs 16:22
