6th grade throwback, anyone? Well, technically the old school Fat Joe and Ashanti song is called "What's Luv," but I refuse to spell that way.
Anyway, I have been doing a lot of thinking lately about the relationship between the head and the heart for Christians. I have heard it mentioned several times in the past month that 18 inches exist between the two, and this distance can be fatal for some who know about Jesus but never really fully trust Him or know Him in their heart. However, I believe the relationship goes deeper than that. I think a lot of times the head gets in the way even if you do have Jesus living in your heart.
What I have been focusing on lately is that my relationship with Jesus is much more of a heart thing. When I got saved, Jesus didn't debate me or try to logically prove anything to me. Rather, He showed me His immense love for me and I realized my need for Him, and those are clearly matters of the heart.
"For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved." John 10:10
Also, it's easy to just get caught up in the motions of things. It's easy to read my Bible every day to say that I did, to go to church because it is Sunday, and to invite people to church because that's outreach. Those are things my head knows that I should do and tells me to do them.
However, when the heart of someone has been touched, it is obvious. Take, for example, Tom Cruise jumping on Oprah's couch declaring his love for Katie Holmes.
(k, maybe not the best example, but you get my drift) We should be that excited about our relationship with the Lord Almighty. Jesus came directly into my heart so I could know Him, not into my head so I could know about Him. I don't want Christianity to be something that I know and accept as a means to an end. I want to be radically changed by the daily transformation Jesus makes in my heart because He loves me, and I love Him.
Today, I realized a simple truth that I have let my head complicate: When you love God, you love people. Living by that truth is simple, yet imperative. What is loving God? Trusting, praying, worshiping, and reading His Word. And why do we love God? Because He first loved us. (1 John 4:19) God loved me so much that he sent his only begotten Son to die for me. And I didn't do anything to deserve it. The Creator of the Universe chose to love me. If that doesn't make you cry, I don't know what will. What can I give Him besides my heart?
I think I often let my head filled with the logistics of life get in my way and complicate that one guideline. I worry about what I "should be doing" or "what God wants me to be doing" when he wants me to love Him and love people. All people. In doing that, I believe the the rest will fall into place.
"Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life." Proverbs 4:23
So, as I am examining my heart, I challenge you to examine your heart as well. Separated from your head and what you have been taught about Jesus, what does your heart say about your relationship with Him right now? Do you trust Him in all areas of your life? Are you joyful because you know Him?
The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song.
Psalm 28:7
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