Danny Fourie

Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Proverbs 4:23

The centre of a human being is the heart. It is the seat of his or her will, mind and emotions. One’s heart rules one’s life. Many expressions come from this statement. Think of: to do something with your whole heart; to feel heartily welcome; to have a heart for someone or something; to take something to heart; to win someone’s heart and to pray for a new heart. In all these expressions the heart is the core of the person. The expression in our eyes normally reveals what is living in our heart.

God wants to change our hearts because from the heart the whole life is renewed. Once, in paradise our hearts belonged to God. But then we took it back and we turned our hearts from God. This is our heart’s disease. Our hearts are no longer directed to God, it is on our money, name, and honour. We rather fill our hearts with jealousy, indifference, and dissatisfaction.

God wants to renew our hearts. It is a wonder that He still wants to do it. One would expect that God would want nothing more to do with us. Let us say to the Lord: “If you still want my heart, take it. Take my heart of stone and give me a heart of flesh, in order that my heart can be become your home.”

God gave his own heart. He did that when He sent his Son to earth. What an unfathomable love for sinners? Let his gift urge us to give our hearts to him as an act of love in return.

When a man gives part of his heart to his wife it is not true love. It is barely love. It will barely be love if we give part of our heart to God. He wants the whole heart, the core and control centre of our life.

Prayer: Lord, you give us so many things. What can we give you in return? Money? A song of praise? We know what the best thing that we can give you is – our whole heart. Take it. Amen.