Living with a Transformed Heart
When my kids were little, I made a poster to help them memorize the famous passage on love in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. I made each phrase a different color.
First, we focused on the red words: Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast.
Then we worked on the orange words: It is not proud, it is not rude. It is not self-seeking.
We proceeded in this colorful fashion until my kids memorized the entire passage. We called it the “First Corinthians Game.”
One morning, while gathering laundry at the top of the stairs, I heard my son say to his big sister, “Let’s play First Corinthians!”
His sister responded with a bored voice, “No thanks.”
Undeterred he said, “Okay. I’ll do it.”
I stopped to listen and savor the moment. In his tender four-year-old voice he began, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast. It is not proud. It is not self-seeking.”
His sister interrupted, “It is not rude. You’re supposed to say, it is not rude.”
He accidentally skipped that phrase, but he stammered back, “No! It is not self-seeking!”
Then she yelled, “That’s wrong! You’re supposed to say it is not rude!”
My moment of maternal bliss ended. I had to march downstairs and break it up. Their words to each other were neither loving nor kind. Obviously, they missed the point.
Later, I couldn’t help but laugh at the irony. Sometimes we work so hard at getting it “right” we miss the point too. Studying the Bible is about transformation, not information. It’s about implanting God’s Word in our hearts that we might love others with the same compassion Christ has shown us.
“If anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.” (James 1:23-25)
James says Scripture is like a mirror.
A mirror reflects the outer person while Scripture reflects the inner person. Nobody looks into the mirror and ignores a smear of ketchup on their chin. Neither should we ignore the truth God speaks to us when His Word reveals an area in our lives we need to change.
My kids reminded me of this important truth that day. I don’t want to acquire head-knowledge without heart-compassion. I want to love the way Jesus loves, and I want to teach my children to do the same.
The truth of Scripture must burrow deep into my soul, yielding a harvest of genuine service from a heart that’s been transformed.
Throughout the Week . . .
In Pastor Jeff’s message this weekend, he shared seven signs of a heart that’s been transformed. One of the most telling evidences of a transformed heart is how we respond to adversity.
Read Matthew 7:24-29.
When the rains fell and the rivers rose and the winds blew, the one with a transformed heart withstood the storm.
For reference, here are the seven signs from Pastor Jeff mentioned in this past weekend’s message:
- You see death differently.
- Evangelism is becoming easier and easier.
- The idols of your life are losing their power and appeal.
- Self-denial is becoming the posture of your life.
- Upsizing is being replaced by Downsizing in order to Upsize!
- Your desire for corporate worship is increasing.
- Apathy is being replaced by love for others.