SCRIP-BITS

Oh Friends, on this bright Sunday morning, the Spirit has guided me to talk about the state of our hearts and how important it is that they are right with God, that they adhere to His holy will, since that’s the meter He uses to determine our righteousness. Now hear this quote by an unknown author, from the Covenant House July Calendar. It says that ‘Childhood is the most beautiful of all life’s seasons.’ And isn’t that the awesome truth! Childhood is generally speaking the best time of our lives, where we have limited responsibility and thus very few serious concerns. That allows us to play and do whatever without having to worry about tomorrow or the consequences of our actions, for those big, everyday concerns belong to our parents. It’s also the time of our greatest innocence and true unconditional LOVE. We live in a sort of fairy-tale world, seeing things through rose coloured glasses. That’s why Jesus likened a child-like state as mankind’s closest approximation to heavenly behaviour and attitude. ‘Suffer (allow the) little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.’ (Matt.19:14) Unfortunately though, that state of affairs quickly changes when we become adults and have numerous responsibilities thrown upon our less than sturdy shoulders. We lose that innocence of heart, that unconditional LOVE for others when we encounter the real world with all its evil; its hatred, greed. selfishness, cunning, duplicity and outright falsehood. Those negative things only serve to harden our hearts and draw us away from God. But to be like Christ, which is the believer’s ultimate goal, our hearts must return to some semblance of our childhood years. Not that we stop being responsible and try to live in a fairy-tale world, but we transform our hearts and actions with real LOVE, practical applications, attitudes and behaviour, which reflect the true Spirit of Jesus in us. ‘By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have LOVE, one to another.’ (John 13:35) Consequently, to bring us to that close approximation of Jesus, which is our life long goal, the Lord has to try, test, and work on our hearts, which are the wellsprings, the very essence of our beings. All that we are, springs from deep down there. Whatever we hold dear and important will register in our hearts and show up in our lifestyle. No wonder Jesus said: ‘For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.’ (Matt.6:21) And He further laid bare the heart situation when He tongue-lashed the hypocritical Pharisees: ‘Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt (bad), and his fruit corrupt (bad): for the tree is known by his fruit. O generation (brood) of vipers, how can ye being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgement. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.’ (Matt.12:33-37) There you have it Friends, the definitive words of Jesus on matters of the heart! We can’t bring forth from our hearts what is not truly buried there. Oh, we might fool ourselves and others for a short while, but eventually the true nature of our hearts will come to the fore, will surface like a diver who’s run out of air. Therefore, as Cousin Sol so wisely declares in our Bit: ‘The fining (refining) pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold: but the Lord trieth the hearts.’ Silver and gold have special ways to be refined, likewise out hearts; through the Father’s timely intervention and careful testing, all with LOVING care. Oh Friends, this is only the introduction to Heart Testing 101. (smile)  Tomorrow, our God in favour, we’ll continue with this all-important subject. Till then please ponder the aforementioned scriptures, and see how our hearts truly line up with them. Much LOVE!…the heart of the matter…it’s all a matter of heart…