Look After Your Heart

by D. Webster, Liverpool | Category: General | Jun 1999

'Look after your heart' was the slogan of a health education campaign mounted by the British Government, aimed at making people more aware of heart disease. It may only be comparatively recently that we have been warned about heart disease, but throughout the pages of Scripture we are constantly warned about spiritual heart disease, 'Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life' (Prov. 4:23) is both a warning about looking after our hearts, and an indication of the importance of this spiritual element.

The Lord who searches the hearts of all mankind makes this serious diagnosis: 'The heart is deceitful above all things, and it is desperately sick...' (Jer. 17:9). This diagnosis was confirmed by the Lord Jesus when He taught, 'For out of the heart come forth evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, railings' adding, 'These are the things that defile the man...' (Mat. 15:19,20).

If the heart is the centre of human depravity, it is encouraging to us to know it is also the sphere of divine influence. For having had our hearts cleansed by faith, God has poured in His love by the Holy Spirit, and it is possible in our experience for Christ to dwell in our hearts through faith, and to know '...the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus' (Phil. 4:7).

And guard it we must! Setting our hearts on things above and allowing the Word of God to purify, let us take on board the challenging words of King David to Solomon, '...know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and a willing mind: for the LORD searcheth all hearts and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever. Take heed now...' (1 Chr. 28:9,10).

D. Webster, Liverpool | Jun 1999
General