A TIME OF INTROSPECTION
My childhood was not a happy one. With molestation in my early years, the death of my father when I was 14 and a controlling mother that tried to prevent me from becoming a "bad boy," I don't remember much happiness. Maybe it was only when I got my Roy Rogers cap pistols for my eighth birthday! It may depend on what one's definition of "bad boy" is, but it is a miracle I didn't turn out to be one! Or, at least I don't think I did. So, what prevented that outcome?
The Heart of a Person
It will depend on what we have been taught, but commonly we consider our heart to be more than a physical organ. It is the "seat," or the sum, of all we are. From a Christian perspective, it is the combined working of our human soul and spirit. I know we could dive deeper into this, but Scripture can provide a fuller understanding that is beyond the scope of this post.
For our purposes in this post, my definition is that our heart is who we are. It shapes our perspective on the things of life and, whether for good or bad, our perspective usually becomes our reality. Eventually, our reality becomes our identity and the purpose to which we dedicate our lives.
Where Does Our Spiritual Heart Come From?
The answer may be obvious to you. Our spiritual heart originates and is shaped by our life experiences. Sometimes we may be able to identify these experiences, and sometimes not! Interestingly, it is almost impossible to change the results of our life experiences on our own. We need the help of others, especially the help of God!
This morning my wife and I were discussing some of these issues. I knew and worked with a pastor that was a child molester. He grew up in a satanic home environment and likely was molested himself in his youth. He had accepted Jesus as his Savior, but the darkness prevailed in his life. Why?
When I was volunteering in a prison, almost all of the men I met had been sexually molested as children. Some were in prison for molesting children. Other men had just habitually perpetrated many crimes. Why?
On the other side of the coin, I knew another pastor that had been a child when his father, the founding pastor of a church, was fired by a board of elders and his family evicted from the church parsonage to become homeless. This pastor became a well-known voice in Christianity, but he was given to assailing and fighting to overcome other people that had perspectives different from his. Why?
As for myself, why didn't I turn out with a heart as a criminal or child molester? I did some bad things, but I never got caught, at least until I was arrested by Jesus Christ. He changed, and is still changing, my perspective and identity! I got revelation this morning of the fact that despite the conflicts I had with my mother, even into years before she died at age 93, she loved me the best she could. It was enough to get me to Jesus! Only Christ can change hearts suffering from life experiences!
Our Story is Never Complete
We may think it is complete but it is not! Here is the answer to the big "WHY!" I ran until I was 45 from facing the things in my heart. Many of those things were ugly, even repulsive to me. Yes, I accepted Jesus as my Savior, but making Him Lord is still the journey I am on. Scripture says all things are made new when we accept Jesus and our LORD and SAVIOR, at least in God's eyes. We must, however, give Him access to our hearts, i.e., we must be open to facing the bad and repulsive things that are embedded in our soul man if we are to be set free! Believe it or not, Matthew 16;24-25 applies to us all, now and as long as we live! We have to die to our self-life for our story to be complete. I'm not done yet! How about you?
No comments:
Post a Comment